A Mission Planning Framework for Fleets of Connected UAVs

Abstract

Currently, several platforms offer solutions for the management and control of fleets of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), addressing a wide range of scenarios, each with its own particular set of objectives. Some of these solutions are mission planning platforms for broader usage, without aiming to solve a single scenario. However, these often either do not support multi-UAV collaboration or generate a static flight trajectory, which does not facilitate the coordination of a fleet of several UAVs in a mission that may need to adapt to the current environment. Through the development of a domain-specific language (DSL) - EasyMission - for UAV mission definition and control, we introduce a mission planning framework that makes it possible to describe mission plans that also enable the user to define adjustments and constraints that may have to be taken into account in real-time according to sensor readings or other events. This framework enables inexperienced users to design missions with low or moderate complexity levels, while still being a useful tool for advanced users due to its versatility in addressing multiple scenarios through a single platform. We show how the mission framework is able to easily define differentiated mission examples with distinct purposes and scenarios, and with real-time decisions and constraints.