Cooperative Autonomy of Multiple Solar-Powered Thermaling Gliders

Abstract

This paper presents a review of the multidisciplinary approach to the design of a fleet of cooperative gliders capable of extended endurance operation. The flock of autonomous gliders is able to harvest energy from the environment, both through photo-voltaic energy generation and through exploitation of natural convective lift in the surrounding air, and act cooperatively to meet mission requirements and to share knowledge of the local environment. The paper begins with a brief overview of the total-energy approach required for such a feat, along with a short description of key system components and the principal technologies. This is followed by details of the evolution of a previously-developed architecture that supported autonomous thermaling, to an architecture that considers the total-energy budget in all flight segments, and utilizes the cooperative flight to maximize the cumulative energy capture while simultaneously meeting mission objectives.