Automated Flight Control System for Drone Swarms

August 2, 2021

An automated system was developed that enables an operator to control a small fleet of up to 10 drones from a single ground station. The operator indicates the mission to be undertaken (for example, monitoring traffic in a particular area) and the system automatically converts this mission into a set of routes that each drone has to follow, automatically calculating alternative routes when necessary.

The researchers first designed a 3D model that simulates an urban environment, where they established takeoff and landing zones. Then they tested a planning algorithm that was responsible for calculating optimal routes for a set of drones. Finally, they implemented different measures (flights at different altitudes, distance control, etc.) to obtain a strategy for avoiding possible collisions.

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