An Architecture for Multi-Vehicle Autonomy with Small UAVs

In the future, a large number of unmanned systems of various types and sizes will be in service, so there will be a critical need for manned and unmanned systems to work together seamlessly with a minimum of human intervention. The work reported here developed and demonstrated a control system for teams of small vehicles. The general goal was to have the means to accomplish complex missions through the cooperation of simple, inexpensive vehicles of limited capability. Hence, the control system must also be inexpensive and simple enough to require only a relatively small amount of computational power. At the same time, it must be flexible enough to adapt to a dynamic environment. The integrated payload must have a “plug-and-play” sensor architecture and compatible subsystem interfaces, and it must satisfy weight, power, and volume constraints.