INVESTIGATION OF SINGLE VS. MULTIPLE TASK TOUR ASSIGNMENTS FOR UAV COOPERATIVE CONTROL

This paper describes an investigation of cooperative control algorithms for development of trajectory and task assignments for a group of UAVs. Single and multiple task tour assignments are discussed. Problems with the single task tour algorithm are identified. The two stage Relative Benefits multiple task assignment algorithm is described. This algorithm makes use of single task assignment algorithms to develop assignments based on multiple task tours. A comparison is made between the Relative Benefits algorithm and the Capacitated Transshipment single task assignment algorithm. A multiple vehicle multiple agent simulation is used to implement a search and destroy scenario. This simulation is used as part of a Monte Carlo analysis comparing the single vs. multiple task assignment algorithms. It is shown that multiple task algorithms outperform single task algorithms prosecuting the target in the scenario.

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