Mission Planning Problems Research Articles

Cooperative networking and information processing system of wireless communication UAV under the background of intelligent service

AbstractIn order to solve the huge impact of the digital information age on many technical and industrial fields, a periodic fast search genetic algorithm is proposed. Based on the reconnaissance mission, this paper introduces the common allocation strategy into mission planning, and constructs the mathematical model of multi unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) cooperative reconnaissance mission planning decision‐making. The proposed periodic fast search genetic algorithm is used to solve the problem of multi UAV cooperative reconnaissance mission planning. In 2020, the industry growth rate of global UAV technology expenditure was as high as 30.6%, and the compound growth rate of UAV in China reached 63.5%, which is enough to see the great prospect of the integrated development of UAV technology and different industries. The experiment evaluates the log verification module of UAV by comparing the two data structures of Merkle tree and linear, and the time and memory overhead of storing and verifying logs, which shows the effectiveness of the log verification scheme in this paper.

Mission Planning of UAVs and UGV for Building Inspection in Rural Area

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become increasingly popular in the civil field, and building inspection is one of the most promising applications. In a rural area, the UAVs are assigned to inspect the surface of buildings, and an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) is introduced to carry the UAVs to reach the rural area and also serve as a charging station. In this paper, the mission planning problem for UAVs and UGV systems is focused on, and the goal is to realize an efficient inspection of buildings in a specific rural area. Firstly, the mission planning problem (MPP) involving UGVs and UAVs is described, and an optimization model is established with the objective of minimizing the total UAV operation time, fully considering the impact of UAV operation time and its cruising capability. Subsequently, the locations of parking points are determined based on the information about task points. Finally, a hybrid ant colony optimization-genetic algorithm (ACO-GA) is designed to solve the problem. The update mechanism of ACO is incorporated into the selection operation of GA. At the same time, the GA is improved and the defects that make GA easy to fall into local optimal and ACO have insufficient searching ability are solved. Simulation results demonstrate that the ACO-GA algorithm can obtain reasonable solutions for MPP, and the search capability of the algorithm is enhanced, presenting significant advantages over the original GA and ACO.

Study on mission planning algorithm for multi-target passive tracking based on satellite formation

Mission planning for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) is challenging when only passive optical sensors are available to observe the targets. In this study, a mission-planning algorithm using a passive optical sensor for multi-target tracking in high altitude orbits based on microsatellite formation was developed, and a two-layer iterative consensus-based auction algorithm was designed to solve the optimization problem with requirements and constraints. First, orbit estimation was formulated using the perturbed dynamics and the line-of-sight angle measurement model. Second, distributed multi-target tracking tasks, including tasking metrics and observation constraints, were constructed for planning. Then, a two-layer iterative consensus-based auction algorithm was developed to solve the mission planning and conflict problem of multi-target tracking using multiple satellites. The only requirement for the algorithm was information exchange between neighboring observers, which encompasses the limitations of centralized planning and facilitates the execution of tasks more efficiently and flexibly. In addition, an event-triggered collaborative filtering approach suitable for this scenario was proposed to solve the distributed estimation problem of measurement asynchrony in epoch and frequency from different observers. Finally, numerical simulations were conducted under different conditions to verify the feasibility of the proposed method.

A Concurrent Mission-Planning Methodology for Robotic Swarms Using Collaborative Motion-Control Strategies.

Swarm robotic systems comprising members with limited onboard localization capabilities rely on employing collaborative motion-control strategies to successfully carry out multi-task missions. Such strategies impose constraints on the trajectories of the swarm and require the swarm to be divided into worker robots that accomplish the tasks at hand, and support robots that facilitate the movement of the worker robots. The consideration of the constraints imposed by these strategies is essential for optimal mission-planning. Existing works have focused on swarms that use leader-based collaborative motion-control strategies for mission execution and are divided into worker and support robots prior to mission-planning. These works optimize the plan of the worker robots and, then, use a rule-based approach to select the plan of the support robots for movement facilitation - resulting in a sub-optimal plan for the swarm. Herein, we present a mission-planning methodology that concurrently optimizes the plan of the worker and support robots by dividing the mission-planning problem into five stages: division-of-labor, task-allocation of worker robots, worker robot path-planning, movement-concurrency, and movement-allocation. The proposed methodology concurrently searches for the optimal value of the variables of all stages. The proposed methodology is novel as it (1) incorporates the division-of-labor of the swarm into worker and support robots into the mission-planning problem, (2) plans the paths of the swarm robots to allow for concurrent facilitation of multiple independent worker robot group movements, and (3) is applicable to any collaborative swarm motion-control strategy that utilizes support robots. A unique pre-implementation estimator, for determining the possible improvement in mission execution performance that can achieved through the proposed methodology was also developed to allow the user to justify the additional computational resources required by it. The estimator uses a machine learning model and estimates this improvement based on the parameters of the mission at hand. Extensive simulated experiments showed that the proposed concurrent methodology improves the mission execution performance of the swarm by almost 40% compared to the competing sequential methodology that optimizes the plan of the worker robots first and, then, the plan of the support robots. The developed pre-implementation estimator was shown to achieve an estimation error of less than 5%.

Survey on Mission Planning of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

The task assignment issue and the path planning problem of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Multi-UAV) are collectively referred to as the Mission Planning Problem (MPP). This review article provides an update on the progress of the MPP on Multi-UAV. Focusing on the burning issue of task assignment, this paper focuses on the comparison of the characteristics of the mathematical programming method, heuristic algorithm, negotiation algorithm and neural networks. According to different constraints, trajectory planning can be divided into 2 dimension coverage, 3 dimension cooperation, and 4 dimension space-time cooperation. Combined with typical research, common collaborative guidance methods are introduced, and the key development direction of this field is prospected. The article shows that, although the MPP has been extensively studied, ongoing research is required. In particular, it is necessary to pay attention to the timeliness of the task assignment, the information coupling exists in MPP, and the problems caused by multiple constraints of Multi-UAV and environmental uncertainty.

On Trajectory Homotopy to Explore and Penetrate Dynamically of Multi-UAV

This paper examines a trajectory homotopy optimization framework for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (multi-UAV) to solve the problem of dynamic penetration mission planning (PMP) with hostile obstacles and perception constraints. Constrained problems are usually more challenging and difficult to solve with some practical constraints and requirements. To improve the efficiency of the solution for the penetration path, a novel variable-time mechanism has been constructed to adapt to the updated delay time of unknown target search (UTS) and dynamic trajectory planning (DTP) two stages. The occupancy grid maps are established by a Gaussian probability field (GPF) for predicting the positions of enemy UAVs. To fully consider the hostile obstacle constraint, a hybrid adaptive obstacle avoidance approach dynamic window PRM (DW-PRM) is designed to shorten the planned path. The penetration strategy algorithm (SG) is developed based on the proposed strategy set and decision tree. To improve the ability of dynamic obstacle avoidance, the multiple coupled penetration homotopy trajectory is addressed with a turning radius constraint. The simulation results indicated that the penetration homotopy framework for multi-constraints can solve the multi-UAV PMP problem.

Multi-UAV cooperative reconnaissance mission planning novel method under multi-radar detection.

Past swarm intelligence algorithms for solving UAV path planning problems have suffered from slow convergence, lack of complex constraints and guidance for local optimisation. It no longer meets the requirements of the Multi-UAV Cooperative Reconnaissance Mission Planning (MUCRMP) problem in the context of multi-radar detection. In this paper, a global optimisation model with the objective of a shorter distance within radar detection range of the UAV is proposed at first, including the planning of reconnaissance sequence between and within target groups, relative position to targets. More importantly, the imaging characteristics of the UAV and its minimum turning radius have been considered in depth in this study. Then an improved synthetic heuristic algorithm is proposed to solve the model, which obtains valuable reconnaissance mission plan. Finally, an example solution for a problem with 68 target point sizes is carried out, and the validity and feasibility of the model and algorithm are illustrated through the analysis given. Compared with the existing algorithms, the improved synthetic heuristic algorithm can give better anti-radar attributes to the UAV and efficiently improved the convergence speed in the specific reconnaissance mission.

Dual-Population Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for Joint Observation Satellite Mission Planning Problem

Earth observation satellites provide services for users by taking images. The rapid increase in the number of satellites and missions makes mission planning more difficult. In order to solve this problem, this paper adopts a multi-population evolutionary algorithm. First, a mixed-integer programming model of the joint observation satellites mission planning problem (JOSMPP) is constructed. After that, a dual-population artificial bee colony algorithm (DPABC) and a heuristic task scheduling algorithm are proposed. Two learning-based nectar generation methods are used to guide the direction of population optimization. The search population is used to lead the nectar search at the stage of employed bees and supplement population is used to improve search performance. According to the performance of these two populations, candidate populations are generated to realize the search of onlooker bees. After each generation of population search, the composition of the two populations is adjusted according to the performance. Finally, the experimental results show that the DPABC algorithm has more advantages than multiple state-of-the-art algorithms to solve the joint mission planning problem of earth observation satellites.

A Region Preference-based Optimization Algorithm for Satellite Mission Planning Problem

For the earth observation satellite mission planning problem, objectives such as observed target quantity, observation profit, energy consumption, image quality should be considered simultaneously, which is a many-objective optimization problem. Classical optimization-based mission planning algorithms obtain a set of non-dominated solutions in the entire search space, while only a single satisfy final plan is desired by decision maker. In this paper, a five-objective optimization model for satellite mission planning problem is constructed, then a region preference-based evolutionary algorithm, HMOEA-T, is applied to obtain the desired solutions. The decision makers describe the preference on each objective in target region form, then the algorithm guides a more detailed search within the preference region rather than the entire Pareto front. Comparative studies with preference-based methods (T-NSGA-III) and classical methods (NSGA-III) are conducted. We have exemplified the proposed method manage to obtain the solutions satisfying the mission planning preference and achieve better performance in convergence and diversity.

Mission Planning Based on Dynamic Agent Interaction Graph for Deep Space Probes

Facing the increasingly complex deep-space exploration missions and the dynamic space environment, deep-space probes need efficient planning methods for the fast generation of plans. The distribution and concurrency of subsystems make a probe suitable to be modeled as a multi-agent system. Existing multi-agent planners, however, cannot be used directly in mission planning of deep space probes that involve handling numeric constraints such as time resources. To solve the above problem, a multi-agent mission plan-space planning method based on distributed refinement search was proposed. A dynamic agent interaction graph (DAIG) was designed to coordinate interactions between agents during planning. Temporal constraints and resource constraints were modeled as constraint satisfaction problems and were handled by graph theory methods. Experiments show that the method proposed in this paper can save computing time of mission planning problems for a probe with multiple subsystems.

Solving the Multi-Functional Heterogeneous UAV Cooperative Mission Planning Problem Using Multi-Swarm Fruit Fly Optimization Algorithm.

The complexity of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions is increasing with the rapid development of UAV technology. Multiple UAVs usually cooperate in the form of teams to improve the efficiency of mission execution. The UAVs are equipped with multiple sensors with complementary functions to adapt to the complex mission constraints. Reasonable task assignment, task scheduling, and UAV trajectory planning are the prerequisites for efficient cooperation of multi-functional heterogeneous UAVs. In this paper, a multi-swarm fruit fly optimization algorithm (MFOA) with dual strategy switching is proposed to solve the multi-functional heterogeneous UAV cooperative mission planning problem with the criterion of simultaneously minimizing the makespan and the total mission time. First, the multi-swarm mechanism is introduced to enhance the global search capability of the fruit fly optimization algorithm. Second, in the smell-based search phase, the local search strategies and large-scale search strategies are designed to drive multiple fruit fly swarms, and the dual strategy switching method is presented. Third, in the vision-based search stage, the greedy selection strategy is adopted. Finally, numerical simulation experiments are designed. The simulation results show that the MFOA algorithm is more effective and stable for solving the multi-functional heterogeneous UAV cooperative mission planning problem compared with other algorithms.

UAV Swarm Mission Planning in Dynamic Environment Using Consensus-Based Bundle Algorithm.

To solve the real-time complex mission-planning problem for Multiple heterogeneous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the dynamic environments, this paper addresses a new approach by effectively adapting the Consensus-Based Bundle Algorithms (CBBA) under the constraints of task timing, limited UAV resources, diverse types of tasks, dynamic addition of tasks, and real-time requirements. We introduce the dynamic task generation mechanism, which satisfied the task timing constraints. The tasks that require the cooperation of multiple UAVs are simplified into multiple sub-tasks to perform by a single UAV independently. We also introduce the asynchronous task allocation mechanism. This mechanism reduces the computational complexity of the algorithm and the communication time between UAVs. The partial task redistribution mechanism has been adopted for achieving the dynamic task allocation. The real-time performance of the algorithm is assured on the premise of optimal results. The feasibility and real-time performance of the algorithm are validated by conducting dynamic simulation experiments.

Method of the Mission Planning for the Communication between the Small Satellite Clusters

Mission planning of space astronomical satellite is a complex optimization problem, which is to determine the communication activities needed by space astronomical and research the in-orbit plan. By abstracting the relevant elements of the mission planning problems of space astronomical satellite and establishing the mathematical model of mission planning of the space astronomical satellite, we introduce the Genetic Algorithm and design the single-objective Genetic Algorithm based on the communication mission window. In addition, based on the Genetic Algorithm, a multi-objective Genetic Algorithm based on the sequence of communication window is designed, which improves the coding ability of Genetic Algorithm and improves the flexibility and applicability of planning effect. From the results of planning simulation, this paper not only innovatively introduces Genetic Algorithm into mission planning of satellite and ground data in order to improve the efficiency of mission planning of space astronomical satellite, but also optimizes single-objective mission to multi-objective mission, which improves the applicability of mission planning of satellite communication and provides reference for other relevant researches in the future.

A framework involving MEC: imaging satellites mission planning

Satellite will play an important role in many important industries and exist as a carrier of information transmission in the era of Internet of Things. Massive data can be used in planning and scheduling processes A general data-driven framework-imaging satellite mission planning framework (ISMPF) for solving imaging mission planning problems is proposed. ISMPF mainly includes three parts: task assignment, planning and scheduling and task execution. The framework gives a general solution to the problem of satellite mission planning. The two core parts of the planning and scheduling module are machine learning algorithms and planning and scheduling algorithms, which greatly affect the quality of the results. Machine learning algorithm is mainly used to quickly obtain feasible initial solution. This idea can be used to quickly analyze and model the imaging satellite observation mission planning, imaging satellite measurement and control, data downlink mission planning problems. It has a strong generality and is suitable for most situations of imaging satellites. In order to verify the validity of ISMPF, we designed test examples for measurement and control, data downlink missions. Experimental verification demonstrates the effectiveness of our proposed framework.

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.

Onboard autonomous mission re-planning for multi-satellite system

This paper presents an onboard autonomous mission re-planning system for Multi-Satellites System (MSS) to perform onboard re-planing in disruptive situations. The proposed re-planning system can deal with different potential emergency situations. This paper uses Multi-Objective Hybrid Dynamic Mutation Genetic Algorithm (MO-HDM GA) combined with re-planning techniques as the core algorithm. The Cyclically Re-planning Method (CRM) and the Near Real-time Re-planning Method (NRRM) are developed to meet different mission requirements. Simulations results show that both methods can provide feasible re-planning sequences under unforeseen situations. The comparisons illustrate that using the CRM is average 20% faster than the NRRM on computation time. However, by using the NRRM more raw data can be observed and transmitted than using the CRM within the same period. The usability of this onboard re-planning system is not limited to multi-satellite system. Other mission planning and re-planning problems related to autonomous multiple vehicles with similar demands are also applicable.

Modeling and Simulation of Mission Planning Problem for Remote Sensing Satellite Imaging

Mission planning problem for remote sensing satellite imaging is studied. Firstly, the time constraint satisfaction problem model is presented after analyzing the characteristic of time constraint. Then, An optimal path searching algorithm based on the discrete time window is proposed according to the non-uniqueness for satellite to mission in the visible time window. Simulation results verify the efficiency of the model and algorithm.

Solving A Multi-objective Mission Planning Problem for UAV Swarms with An Improved NSGA-III Algorithm

Restricted communication in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms means that configuration needs to vary dynamically with changing tasks. We propose a mission planning model that uses a motif, a grouping of related functions, as the basic task unit. The planning model automatically generates a mission planning scheme from a task priority execution order given as an input. The selection of the best scheme from among possible solutions is a multi-objective optimization problem with calculation complexity rapidly increasing with the number of tasks. To address this difficulty, we enhance the NSGA-III algorithm by adding adaptive genetic operators when generating the offspring population. We apply the improved NSGA-III algorithm to optimize mission planning schemes with changing task priority execution orders. We validated the feasibility and effectiveness of the improved algorithm via a case study.

Space station short-term mission planning using ontology modelling and time iteration

This paper studies the problem of the space station short-term mission planning, which aims to allocate the executing time of missions effectively, schedule the corresponding resources reasonably and arrange the time of the astronauts properly. A domain model is developed by using the ontology theory to describe the concepts, constraints and relations of the planning domain formally, abstractly and normatively. A method based on time iteration is adopted to solve the short-term planning problem. Meanwhile, the resolving strategies are proposed to resolve different kinds of conflicts induced by the constraints of power, heat, resource, astronaut and relationship. The proposed approach is evaluated in a test case with fifteen missions, thirteen resources and three astronauts. The results show that the developed domain ontology model is reasonable, and the time iteration method using the proposed resolving strategies can successfully obtain the plan satisfying all considered constraints.

A real-time network approach for including obstacles and flight dynamics in UAV route planning

The procedure presented within considers the problem of calculating flight time for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) while incorporating a subset of important flight dynamics characteristics in an operational field that contains obstacles. These flight time calculations are parameter inputs in mission planning and dynamic reassignment problems. The addition of pseudonodes and the addition of penalties into the associated edge weights are the basis for how the network generation procedure includes flight dynamics. The procedure includes a method for handling pop-up targets or obstacles in a dynamic reassignment problem. To guarantee that the optimal path includes flight dynamics, a selective Dijkstra’s algorithm computes the shortest path. A complex mission plan consisting of thirty targets and three obstacles is the largest test scenario of nine developed scenarios. Our network generation procedure, along with the shortest path calculations of all 992 node pairs of interest, solves in approximately one second. This procedure allows for the fast computation needed to generate parameters for use in a dynamic domain such as mission planning and dynamic reassignment algorithms.