Mission Planning Method Research Articles

Multi-UAV Collaborative Mission Planning Method for Self-Organized Sensor Data Acquisition

Multi-UAV Collaborative Mission Planning Method for Self-Organized Sensor Data Acquisition

A Distributed Autonomous Mission Planning Method for the Low-Orbit Imaging Constellation

With the improvement of satellite autonomy, multi-satellite cooperative mission planning has become an important application. This requires multiple satellites to interact with each other via inter-satellite links to reach a consistent mission planning scheme. Considering issues such as inter-satellite link failure, external interference, and communication delay, algorithms should minimize communication costs as much as possible. The CBBA algorithm belongs to a fully distributed multi-agent task allocation algorithm, which has been introduced into multi-satellite autonomous task planning scenarios and achieved good planning results. This paper mainly focuses on the communication problem, and proposes an improved algorithm based on it, which is called c-CBBA. The algorithm is designed with task preemption strategy and single-chain strategy to reduce the communication volume. The task preemption strategy is an accelerated convergence mechanism designed for the convergence characteristics of CBBA, while the single-chain strategy is a communication link pruning strategy designed for the information exchange characteristics of satellites. Experiments in various scenarios show that the algorithm can effectively reduce communication volume while ensuring the effectiveness of task planning.

Active Debris Removal Mission Planning Method Based on Machine Learning

To prevent the proliferation of space debris and stabilize the space environment, active debris removal (ADR) has increasingly gained public concern. Considering the complexity of space operations and the viability of ADR missions, it would be necessary to schedule the ADR process in order to remove as much debris as possible. This paper presents an active debris removal mission planning problem, devoted to generate an optimal debris removal plan to guide the mission process. According to the problem characteristics, a two-layer time-dependent traveling salesman problem(TSP) mathematical model is established, involving the debris removal sequence planning and the transfer trajectory planning. Subsequently, two main novel methods based on machine learning are proposed for the ADR mission planning problem, including a deep neural networks(DNN)-based estimation method for approximating the optimal velocity increments of perturbed multiple-impulse rendezvous and an reinforcement learning(RL)-based method for optimizing the sequence of debris removal and rendezvous time. Experimental results of different simulation scenarios have verified the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method, indicating the good performance for solving the active debris removal mission planning problem.

A Multi-Objective Mission Planning Method for AUV Target Search

How an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) performs fully automated task allocation and achieves satisfactory mission planning effects during the search for potential threats deployed in an underwater space is the focus of the paper. First, the task assignment problem is defined as a traveling salesman problem (TSP) with specific and distinct starting and ending points. Two competitive and non-commensurable optimization goals, the total sailing distance and the turning angle generated by an AUV to completely traverse threat points in the planned order, are taken into account. The maneuverability limitations of an AUV, namely, minimum radius of a turn and speed, are also introduced as constraints. Then, an improved ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm based on fuzzy logic and a dynamic pheromone volatilization rule is developed to solve the TSP. With the help of the fuzzy set, the ants that have moved along better paths are screened and the pheromone update is performed only on preferred paths so as to enhance pathfinding guidance in the early stage of the ACO algorithm. By using the dynamic pheromone volatilization rule, more volatile pheromones on preferred paths are produced as the number of iterations of the ACO algorithm increases, thus providing an effective way for the algorithm to escape from a local minimum in the later stage. Finally, comparative simulations are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed algorithm and the influence of critical parameters is also analyzed and demonstrated.

Sky Area Target of Opportunity Mission Planning Method

针对中法合作SVOM卫星的天区范围内机遇目标规划问题（ToO-MM），对其中的约束条件和优化目标进行抽象，建立了规划问题数学模型，设计实现了基于启发式规则的机遇目标规划算法TMHPA。以最大化卫星科学观测收益和最大化应急任务响应度为优化目标，考虑卫星姿态调整时间的影响，对观测任务和数传任务进行规划。通过仿真实验验证算法的有效性，结果表明该方法能够在保证算法收敛性和时效性同时，给出卫星在天区范围内的网格单元（tile）目标观测序列以及执行数传任务的时段安排，实现对ToO目标观测的快速响应，并及时下传机遇目标科学观测数据，满足规划算法的设计需求。

Autonomous Mission Planning Method for Optical Imaging Satellites Based on Real-Time Cloud Cover Information

Cloud cover is an important factor limiting the earth observation efficiency of optical imaging satellites. Existing solutions include avoiding cloudy observation time windows by onboard cloud detectors and ground monitors, which are difficult to improve satellite observation efficiency in time. In order to solve the problem, firstly, a Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites cooperation scheme by using cloud cover information provided by GEO meteorological satellite to guide the imaging of LEO optical satellites is proposed, and the operation flow and key elements in this scheme are analyzed. Secondly, Fengyun-4 GEO meteorological satellite and its cloud mask (CLM) products are analyzed. Thirdly, an autonomous mission planning algorithm based on real-time cloud cover information is proposed. Computational results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed GEO–LEO satellites cooperation scheme by taking the actual orbit and payload data of Fengyun-4 and Gaofen-1/2 satellites as examples.

A Hierarchical Mission Planning Method for Simultaneous Arrival of Multi-UAV Coalition

A hierarchical mission planning method was proposed to solve a simultaneous attack mission planning problem for multi-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The method consisted of three phases aiming to decouple and solve the mission planning problem. In the first phase, the Pythagorean hodograph (PH) curve was used in the path estimation process for each UAV, which also served as the input for the task allocation process. In the second phase, a task allocation algorithm based on a negotiation mechanism was proposed to assign the targets. Considering the resource requirement, time-dependent value of targets and resource consumption of UAVs, the proposed task allocation algorithm can generate a feasible allocation strategy and get the maximum system utility. In the last phase, a path planning method was proposed to generate a simultaneous arrival PH path for each UAV considering UAV’s kinematic constraint and collision avoidance with obstacles. The comparison simulations showed that the path estimation process using the PH curve and the proposed task allocation algorithm improved the system utility, and the hierarchical mission planning method has potential in a real mission.

Heuristic-Based Mission Planning for an Agile Earth Observation Satellite

In this paper, mission planning for an earth observation satellite is studied. Generally, the mission planning problem is known as a highly combinational problem. While exact methods can provide optimal scheduling solutions, they require large computation time so the exact methods may not be adequate for timely operations. In this paper, a simple yet effective heuristic method for mission planning is proposed. An additional degree of freedom in pitch axis is taken into account, which can significantly increase the number of images compared to the roll-only observations. Also, possibility of reverse order observation is considered with a simple objective function. The proposed method is applied to short-horizon mission planning in low earth orbit. The exact brute-force search is utilized as a counterpart to analyze optimality and time-effectiveness of the proposed method. Numerical results show that the proposed method offers a slightly degraded solution but runs very fast due to its simplicity.

Fast and coupled solution for cooperative mission planning of multiple heterogeneous unmanned aerial vehicles

This paper studies a problem in which a fleet of heterogeneous fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) must identify the optimal flyable trajectory to traverse over multiple targets and perform consecutive tasks. To obtain a fast and feasible solution, a coupled and distributed planning method is developed that integrates the task assignment and trajectory generation aspects of the problem. With specific constraints and a relaxed Dubins path, the cooperative mission-planning problem is reformulated. A distributed genetic algorithm is then proposed to search for the optimal solution, and chromosomal genes are modified to adapt to the heterogeneous characteristic of UAVs. Then, a fixed-wing UAV model with 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) and a path-following method is used to verify this proposed mission-planning method. The simulation results show that the proposed approach obtains feasible solutions and significantly improves the operating rate, with the potential for use in a real mission.

A Motif-based Mission Planning Method for UAV Swarms Considering Dynamic Reconfiguration

Influenced by complex terrain conditions of combat environments and constrained by the level of communication technology, communication among unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is greatly restricted. In light of this situation, mission planning for UAV swarms under limited communication has become a difficult problem. This paper introduces motifs as the basic unit of configuration and proposes a motif-based mission planning method considering dynamic reconfiguration. This method uses multidimensional dynamic list scheduling algorithm to generate a mission planning scheme based on the motif-based swarm configuration solution. Then it incorporates order preserved operators with NSGA-III algorithm to find Pareto front solutions of all possible mission planning schemes. The feasibility of this mission planning method is validated through a case study.

NSGA-II-Based Multi-objective Mission Planning Method for Satellite Formation System

This study proposes a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II-based multi-objective optimization method to solve the multi-objective mission planning problem for satellite formation flying system which has the ability to obtain both digital elevation map and ground moving target indicator information at the same time when certain conditions are satisfied. The 2 objectives considered in this study are maximizing total profits and maximizing numbers of completed acquisitions. Thus, the multiple-objective satellite scheduling optimization problem is formulated and solved by the proposed method. Its validity and effectiveness are verified by numerical simulations, and the results show that it can achieve better performance with respect to 2 different objectives in an overall perspective than the traditional scheduling optimization, which can consider only 1 objective

月面巡视器遥操作中的任务规划技术研究

A synthesized environmental model aimed at mission planning for lunar rovers was developed taking into account all the lunar terrain features, solar energy effects, shadow and communication opportunities. Based on the environmental model, a method of mission planning for lunar rovers was developed, planning the global path dynamically and the activities at the same time. The path planning problem in a dynamic environment can be transformed to a series of path planning problems in static environments by periodically updating the environment at some frequency. During path searching, activities along the path were arranged subject to the constraints being checked. The simulation results showed that the synthesized environmental model properly described all the factors and their effects on mission planning. The mission planning method generates globally optimized paths and constraints-satisfied activities along the paths.