Operational Considerations for Autonomous Aerial Monitoring

Abstract

We explore the suitability of the Maximal Distance Discounted & Weighted Revisit Period utility function as a basis for task selection by an autonomous aerial vehicle in the presence of operational factors. The vehicles must persistently visit tasks that are located throughout a broad region. The four operational factors considered are Dubins constraints on vehicle motion, the presence of no-fly zones in the mission area, return to base requirements, and the addition/removal of vehicles and tasks throughout the mission. We show Euclidean distance to be a sufficient basis for estimating travel times so long as the ratio of the vehicle turning radius to the average distance between tasks is less than 0.3. We also develop a means by which the effect of a no-fly zone on the mission can be measured, which we call the Impact Ratio, and begin to characterize when the utility function parameters must be adjusted due to a no-fly zone. Furthermore, we show that the utility function is capable of meeting a required revisit window to a base node by adjusting task weight parameters. Finally, we demonstrate that our utility function automatically adapts to a changing mission environment, whether those changes are planned by operators or the result of unforeseen events.