Central Command Architecture for High-Order Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Systems

Larry M. Silverberg, Chad Bieber

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/iim.2014.64019                

Abstract

This paper is the first in a two-part series that introduces an easy-to-implement central command architecture for high-order autonomous unmanned aerial systems. This paper discusses the development and the second paper presents the flight test results. As shown in this paper, the central command architecture consists of a central command block, an autonomous planning block, and an autonomous flight controls block. The central command block includes a staging process that converts an objective into tasks independent of the vehicle (agent). The autonomous planning block contains a non-iterative sequence of algorithms that govern routing, vehicle assignment, and deconfliction. The autonomous flight controls block employs modern controls principles, dividing the control input into a guidance part and a regulation part. A novel feature of high-order central command, as this paper shows, is the elimination of operator-directed vehicle tasking and the manner in which deconfliction is treated. A detailed example illustrates different features of the architecture.

Keywords

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Autonomy, Central Command, High-Order Systems, Deconfliction

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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