NEUSIS: A Compositional Neuro-Symbolic Framework for Autonomous Perception, Reasoning, and Planning in Complex UAV Search Missions

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of autonomous UAV search missions, where a UAV must locate specific Entities of Interest (EOIs) within a time limit, based on brief descriptions in large, hazard-prone environments with keep-out zones. The UAV must perceive, reason, and make decisions with limited and uncertain information. We propose NEUSIS, a compositional neuro-symbolic system designed for effective UAV search and navigation in realistic scenarios. NEUSIS integrates neuro-symbolic visual perception, reasoning, and grounding (GRiD) to process raw sensory inputs, maintains a probabilistic world model for environment representation, and uses a hierarchical planning component (SNaC) for efficient path planning. Experimental results from simulated urban search missions using AirSim and Unreal Engine show that NEUSIS outperforms state-of-the-art baselines for both perception and planning. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of our compositional neuro-symbolic approach in handling complex scenarios, making it a promising solution for autonomous UAV systems in search missions.