Digraph-based anti-communication-destroying topology design for multi-UAV formation

This paper addresses the problem of robust topology design of the multi-UAV formation. We use a digraph to model the topology of the multi-UAV formation, and propose the definition of anti-k-communication-destroying topology, meaning the system can still performs normally even when any arbitrary k communicating links are destroyed. By exploring the property of this kind of topology based on graph theory, we propose the algorithm Uniform-Cost Forest Search, UCFS, which is an extension of the classical search strategy uniform-cost search. The proposed algorithm would establish the anti-k-communication-destroying topology for the multi-UAV formation, with k + 1 minimal-cost edge-independent paths found for each UAV. Proof as well as examples validating the algorithm are provided in the paper. Finally, potential research directions are discussed.