Optimal event handling by multiple unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

This paper proposes a control architecture for a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles that is responsible for handling the events that take place in a given area. The architecture guarantees that each event is handled by the required number of vehicles in the shortest time, while the rest of the fleet is optimally distributed in order to achieve an optimal coverage of the area. Each vehicle is steered to the specified location by a path planner that follows the shortest path while avoiding collisions. The control architecture has been validated both in simulations and in experiments on a fleet of three vehicles.