Three-Dimensional Multi-UAV Trajectory Design for Cooperative Video Inspection and Uploading

Abstract

This paper studies the multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) trajectory design for post-disaster cooperative video inspection and information uploading. The locations to be inspected are modeled as points of interest (PoIs) with heterogeneous resolution requirements. The three-dimensional (3D) trajectories for multiple cooperative UAVs are designed to minimize the time for successfully inspecting all the PoIs and maximize the communication time for the video uploading. An UAV inspection model is built to clarify the criteria for successful inspection, which is related to the UAV's 3D positions and velocity. The proposed UAV trajectory design involves two steps. First, the PoIs in proximity are grouped using convex optimization. Then, the multiple UAV trajectories are jointly designed by solving a multiple traveling salesman problem (MTSP). Numerical results show that the proposed design can significantly reduce the mission completion time.