Adaptive level of autonomy for human-UAVs collaborative surveillance using situated fuzzy cognitive maps

Collaborating with a squad of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is challenging for a human operator in a cooperative surveillance task. In this paper, we propose a cognitive model that can dynamically adjust the Levels of Autonomy (LOA) of the human-UAVs team according to the changes in task complexity and human cognitive states. Specifically, we use the Situated Fuzzy Cognitive Map (SiFCM) to model the relations among tasks, situations, human states and LOA. A recurrent structure has been used to learn the strategy of adjusting the LOA, while the collaboration task is separated into a perception routine and a control routine. Experiment results have shown that the workload of the human operator is well balanced with the task efficiency.     

Cooperative task scheduling for networked uninhabited air vehicles

In the work presented here, we study a cooperative control problem for a network of uninhabited air vehicles (UAVs) where it is assumed that after deployment a set of tasks is given to a group of UAVs and the UAVs must cooperate to decide which UAV should process each task. The cooperation must occur during real-time operation due to a need to repeatedly process each task, in spite of imperfect communications (e.g., messages with random but bounded delays), and the possibility that tasks "pop-up." We show how to view this as a cooperative scheduling problem, and how to derive bounds on mission-level performance metrics. Simulations are used to compare the approach with a noncooperative strategy and to provide design guidelines for the cooperative scheduler.     

基于零空间方法的四旋翼无人机避障与协同编队控制

针对四旋翼无人机在编队飞行执行任务时可能遭遇障碍物问题,考虑多无人机避障及机间避撞的需求,提出 1种基于零空间方法的四旋翼无人机避障与协同编队控制算法。首先,建立四旋翼无人机动力学模型,并建立虚拟控制量简化控制模型;其次,基于零空间方法进行避障与协同编队控制算法研究,将无人机任务执行分解为目标趋向任务、避障避撞任务和协同编队任务,并根据优先级进行任务融合得到期望速度;再次,基于 PID方法设计控制律;最后,通过仿真验证所提控制算法的有效性。所提方法可保证四旋翼无人机在编队飞行中遭遇障碍物时的飞行安全。     

Fractional order adaptive robust formation control of multiple quad-rotor UAVs with parametric uncertainties and wind disturbances

In recent times, multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are being widely utilized in several areas of applications such as agriculture, surveillance, disaster management, search and rescue operations. Degree of robustness of applied control schemes determines how accurate a swarm of UAVs accomplish group tasks. Formation and trajectory tracking controllers are required for the swarm of multiple UAVs. Factors like external environmental effects, parametric uncertainties and wind gusts make the controller design process as a challenging task. This article proposes fractional order formation and trajectory tacking controllers for multiple quad-rotors using Super Twisting Sliding Mode Control (STSMC) technique. To compensate the effects of the disturbances due to parametric uncertainties and wind gusts, Lyapunov function based adaptive controllers are formulated. Moreover, Lyapunov theorem is used to guarantee the stability of the proposed controllers. Three types of controllers, namely fixed gain STSMC and fractional order Adaptive Super Twisting Sliding Mode Control (ASTSMC) methods are tested for the swarm of UAVs by performing the numerical simulations in MATLAB/Simulink environment. From the presented results, it is verified that in presence of wind disturbances and parametric uncertainties, the proposed fractional order ASTSMC technique showed improved robustness as compared to the fixed gain STSMC and integer order ASTSMC.     

飞行器多任务在线实时航迹规划

 针对不确定环境中的飞行器多任务航迹规划问题展开研究,提出了一种基于飞行路线图的两阶段航迹规划框架,航迹规划分成学习和查询两个阶段,环境信息和飞行器约束条件分阶段体现。在该框架下,通过采用一种混合多任务动态航迹规划方法,分别在稀疏路线图上实时搜索初始航迹和在精细路线图上启发式搜索后备航迹,能够在具有预先未知威胁、可变飞行任务的战场环境中实时生成三维航迹。     

基于Nash均衡与进化计算的协调航迹规划

在对策论框架下研究多无人飞行器的协调航迹规划问题,提出了一种基于Nash平衡和进化计算的航迹规划算法.协调航迹规划是一个多目标合作优化问题,也是一个非合作对策问题.飞行器编队的分布结构提供了一种隐性偏好信息,有助于找到飞行器编队的最优协调航迹和最优飞行代价分配.本文算法使用特定的航迹个体表示方法和进化算子,按照层次方法处理各种航迹约束.不同飞行器间的协同和竞争关系定义在航迹评价函数里.仿真结果验证了基于博弈论航迹规划算法的可行性和优越性.     

Adaptive path planning for unmanned aerial vehicles based on bi-level programming and variable planning time interval

This paper presents an adaptive path planner for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to adapt a real-time path search procedure to variations and fluctuations of UAVs’ relevant performances, with respect to sensory capability, maneuverability, and flight velocity limit. On the basis of a novel adaptability-involved problem statement, bi-level programming (BLP) and variable planning step techniques are introduced to model the necessary path planning components and then an adaptive path planner is developed for the purpose of adaptation and optimization. Additionally, both probabilistic-risk-based obstacle avoidance and performance limits are described as path search constraints to guarantee path safety and navigability. A discrete-search-based path planning solution, embedded with four optimization strategies, is especially designed for the planner to efficiently generate optimal flight paths in complex operational spaces, within which different surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) are deployed. Simulation results in challenging and stochastic scenarios firstly demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed planner, and then verify its great adaptability and relative stability when planning optimal paths for a UAV with changing or fluctuating performances.     

Improving multi-target cooperative tracking guidance for UAV swarms using multi-agent reinforcement learning

Multi-Target Tracking Guidance(MTTG) in unknown environments has great potential values in applications for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) swarms. Although Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning(MADRL) is a promising technique for learning cooperation, most of the existing methods cannot scale well to decentralized UAV swarms due to their computational complexity or global information requirement. This paper proposes a decentralized MADRL method using the maximum reciprocal reward to learn cooper...     

基于MILP的多无人机对敌防空火力压制

建立了基于混合整数线性规划（Mixed Integer LinearProgram,MILP）的多无人机编队对敌防空火力压制协同任务分配模型,以0-1决策变量表征无人机一任务指派关系,引入连续时间决策变量来表示任务的执行时间,并通过对决策变量之间的线性等式和不等式的数学描述,建立无人机之间和无人机执行任务之间合理的协同约束关系。采用商用软件CPLEX对模型求解,仿真验证了模型的合理性。     

非对称机动能力多无人机智能协同攻防对抗

协同攻防对抗是未来军用无人机的重要作战场景。针对不同机动能力无人机群体间的攻防对抗问题，建立了多无人机协同攻防演化模型，基于多智能体强化学习理论，研究了多无人机协同攻防的自主决策方法，提出了基于执行-评判（Actor-Critic）算法的集中式评判和分布式执行的算法结构，保证算法稳定收敛的同时，提升执行效率。无人机的评判模块使用全局信息评价决策优劣引导策略学习，而执行时只需要依赖局部感知信息进行自主决策，提高了多机攻防对抗的效能。仿真结果表明，所提的多无人机强化学习方法具备较强的自进化属性，赋予了无人机一定智能，即稳定的自主学习能力，通过不断演化，能自主学习提升协同对抗的决策效能。     

Operator scheduling strategies in supervisory control of multiple UAVs

The application of network centric operations to time-constrained command and control environments will mean that human operators will be increasingly responsible for multiple simultaneous supervisory control tasks. One such futuristic application will be the control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by a single operator. To achieve such performance in complex, time critical, and high risk settings, automated systems will be required both to guarantee rapid system response, as well as manageable workload for operators. Through the development of a simulation test bed for human supervisory control of multiple independent UAVs by a single operator, this paper presents recent efforts to investigate workload mitigation strategies as a function of increasing automation. A human-in-the-loop experiment revealed that under low workload conditions, operators' cognitive strategies were relatively robust across increasing levels of automated decision support. However, when provided with explicit automated recommendations and with the ability to negotiate with external agencies for delays in arrival times for targets, operators inappropriately fixated on the need to globally optimize their schedules. In addition, without explicit visual representation of uncertainty, operators tended to treated all probabilities uniformly. This study also revealed that operators who reached cognitive saturation adapted two very distinct management strategies, which led to varying degrees of success. Lastly, operators with management-by-exception decision support exhibited evidence of automation bias.     

考虑低空运行环境求解无人机任务分配问题的研究

在低空救援中如何合理地分配无人机的搜救任务长期以来都是研究的重点。在分层级分布式分配方法的基础上建立多目标多无人机任务分配模型,在模型中以搜救费用、无人机使用数量、完成任务的均衡性为目标函数,采用改进的NSGA-Ⅱ算法进行求解。结果表明：本文建立的模型有效,能在不同搜救环境下给出合理有效的分配方案;在搜救中考虑以搜救效率最高为导向时,带来无人机成本和数量的增加;当实际搜救的无人机非常有限时,则需要时间成本的投入;以经济利益为导向时,则会导致搜救时间的增加。     

Cooperative task assignment of multiple heterogeneous unmanned aerial vehicles using a modified genetic algorithm with multi-type genes

The task assignment problem of multiple heterogeneous unmanned aerial vehicles （UAVs）, concerned with cooperative decision making and control, is studied in this paper. The heterogeneous vehicles have different operational capabilities and kinematic constraints, and carry limited resources （e.g., weapons） onboard. They are designated to perform multiple consecutive tasks cooperatively on multiple ground targets. The problem becomes much more complicated because of these terms of heterogeneity. In order to tackle the challenge, we modify the former genetic algorithm with multi-type genes to stochastically search a best solution. Genes of chromo- somes are different, and they are assorted into several types according to the tasks that must be performed on targets. Different types of genes are processed specifically in the improved genetic operators including initialization, crossover, and mutation. We also present a mirror representation of vehicles to deal with the limited resource constraint. Feasible chromosomes that vehicles could perform tasks using their limited resources under the assignment are created and evolved by genetic operators. The effect of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated in numerical simulations. The results show that it effectively provides good feasible solutions and finds an optimal one.     

垂直起降无人机总体方案分析及控制策略综合研究

垂直起降无人机是垂直起降技术和无人机的结合体。它既有直升机的垂直起降和悬停能力,又具有固定翼飞机的速度快、航程远的特点。同时,它还具备一般无人机的基本特点,可满足执行特殊任务的需要。因无需考虑机载人员的因素,垂直起降无人机可以采用的垂直起降和总体设计方案更加灵活和多样。本文在分析现有各种垂直起降无人机方案的基础上,提出了“双旋翼尾坐式飞翼”布局,并在随后对其进行了详细参数确定和性能估算。最后,对其进行了控制策略的研究。     

面向林火持续侦察的多无人机分布式控制方法

为解决目前面向林火持续侦察多无人机（UAV）协同控制实用性与自主性不足的问题，基于蔓延速度诱导元胞自动机（SVICA）林火蔓延算法、无人机与传感器建模，构建了较为真实的三维多无人机火场侦察仿真环境与侦察效能指标，提出了一种面向林火持续侦察的多无人机双层分布式控制架构，在行动层基于强化学习训练的人工神经网络（ANN），实现了有风条件下无人机自主火场环绕与地形跟随功能，在策略层设计通过时域均匀分布算法进行各无人机空速的离散自主调节，最终达到多无人机林火持续侦察时域分布的均匀性与即时性目的。通过一系列数值仿真实验，验证了所提出的无人机分布控制策略在无人机损失和补充突发情况下的自适应性。基于无人机数量与侦察效能指标关系的实验与研究，定义了无人机出动阈值并验证了无人机长时间出动回收策略。最终实验结果表明，针对林火持续侦察任务，所提出的多无人机分布式控制方法具备一定的有效性与实用性。     

基于预设性能的四旋翼无人机编队安全控制

针对四旋翼无人机编队系统存在模型不确定性、未知外部干扰与内部碰撞等问题,提出一种基于预设性能的安全控制方法。首先使用预设性能函数结合误差转换方法,将防止内部碰撞的不等式约束问题转换为无约束问题。同时针对模型中的不确定项,使用神经网络进行逼近;针对神经网络逼近误差与未知外部干扰组成的复合干扰,使用非线性干扰观测器进行估计,并分别设计位置与姿态子系统控制器,避免了编队内四旋翼无人机的碰撞。然后借助Lyapunov方法证明了闭环系统所有信号的收敛性。最后通过数值仿真验证了所提控制方法的有效性。     

Design,modeling, and control of morphing aircraft:A review

A morphing aircraft can adapt its configuration to suit different types of tasks, which is also an important requirement of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAV). The successful development of an unmanned morphing aircraft involves three steps that determine its ability and intelligent: configuration design, dynamic modeling and flight control. This study conducts a comprehensive survey of morphing aircraft. First, the methods to design the configuration of a morphing aircraft are presented and analyzed...     

Formation flight of fixed-wing UAV swarms: A group-based hierarchical approach

This paper investigates a formation control problem of fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) swarms. A group-based hierarchical architecture is established among the UAVs, which decomposes all the UAVs into several distinct and non-overlapping groups. In each group, the UAVs form hierarchies with one UAV selected as the group leader. All group leaders execute coordinated path following to cooperatively handle the mission process among different groups, and the remaining followers track their direct leaders to achieve the inner-group coordination. More specifically, for a group leader, a virtual target moving along its desired path is assigned for the UAV, and an updating law is proposed to coordinate all the group leaders’ virtual targets; for a follower UAV, the distributed leader-following formation control law is proposed to make the follower’s heading angle coincide with its direct leader, while keeping the desired relative position with respect to its direct leader. The proposed control law guarantees the globally asymptotic stability of the whole closed-loop swarm system under the control input constraints of fixed-wing UAVs. Theoretical proofs and numerical simulations are provided, which corroborate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

航空电子系统混合实时任务的双层调度

针对航空电子系统的实时性需求,提出满足综合模块化航空电子(IMA)构架的双层任务调度算法.通过加权轮转调度激活分区,并为分区提供固定的时间窗口,增强了系统的可预测性;分区内部采用可抢占的固定优先级调度,减少了高优先级任务的响应时间.算法支持混合任务集的调度:对周期的强实时任务,建立具有任意时限的任务模型,增强了模型的通...     

基于多智能体混合学习的多星协同动态任务规划算法(英文)

针对多星协同动态任务规划问题,以往多采用基于启发式的重规划算法,但是由于启发式策略依赖于具体任务,使得优化性受到影响。注意到协同规划的历史信息对后续协同规划的影响,本文提出了一种基于策略迭代的多智能体强化学习和迁移学习的混合学习算法求解该问题近似最优策略。本文的多智能体强化学习方法利用神经网络描述各颗卫星的强化学习策略,通过协同进化的方法迭代搜索具有最优拓扑结构和连接权重的策略神经网络个体。针对随机出现的观测任务请求导致历史学习策略失效,通过迁移学习将历史学习策略转换为当前初始策略,保证规划质量前提下加快多星协同任务规划速度。仿真实验及分析结果表明本文算法对动态随机出现的任务请求有良好的适应性。