Autonomous guidance and conflict avoidance for multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in urban environments

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dc.contributor.advisorEngelbrecht, Japieen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHughes, Merricken_ZA
dc.contributor.otherStellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.en_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2024-03-04T09:42:49Zen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-26T16:00:51Zen_ZA
dc.date.available2024-03-04T09:42:49Zen_ZA
dc.date.available2024-04-26T16:00:51Zen_ZA
dc.date.issued2024-03en_ZA
dc.descriptionThesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2024.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis presents an autonomous guidance and conflict avoidance system for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in urban environments. The guidance system comprises a long-term route planner and a short-term cooperative conflict avoidance function. The route planner generates long-term routes for the UAVs to follow to satisfy their missions, whereas the conflict avoidance function continuously predicts and resolves short-term impending collisions/conflicts with terrain and other UAVs. These conflicts are resolved cooperatively between all UAVs involved while attempting to minimise each UAV’s deviation from its long-term route during conflict avoidance. The guidance system is conceptualised to support multiple independent UAVs flying within an urban environment that contains terrain as well as wind. A 3D model of real urban terrain is implemented using established computational geometry techniques and the motion constraints of the UAVs are set to replicate those of real-life UAVs. Monte Carlo simulations are designed to evaluate and compare the performance of the guidance system in different scenarios by analysing both illustrative and statistical results. The illustrative results indicate that the route planner and conflict avoidance function behave as expected in given scenarios. The statistical results confirm that the performance of the route planner decreases at lower altitudes and also suggest that it may struggle with grid-like terrain, while the failure rate of the conflict avoidance function does not appear to be strongly correlated with any given scenario. A combined set of avoidance manoeuvres is the most effective for conflict avoidance but has the longest execution times, whereas airspeed manoeuvres used in isolation are the least effective and horizontal manoeuvres are the least optimal with the largest average deviations from a UAV’s long-term route. A single avoidance manoeuvre type used in isolation exhibits promising execution times for a real-time application.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis beskryf die ontwikkeling van ’n outonome leiding en konflikvermydingstelsel vir veelvuldige onbemande lugvoertuie (UAVs) in stedelike omgewings. Die leidingstelsel bestaan uit ’n langtermyn roetebeplanner en ’n korttermyn samewerkende konflikvermydingsfunksie. Die roetebeplanner genereer langtermynroetes vir die UAVs om te volg om hul missies te bevredig, terwyl die konflikvermydingsfunksie voortdurend korttermyn dreigende botsings/konflik met terrein en ander UAVs voorspel en oplos. Hierdie konflikte word in samewerking tussen alle betrokke UAVs opgelos terwyl daar gepoog word om elke UAV se afwyking van sy langtermynroete tydens konflikvermyding te verminder. Die leidingstelsel is gekonseptualiseer om verskeie onafhanklike UAVs te ondersteun wat binne ’n stedelike omgewing vlieg wat terrein sowel as wind bevat. ’n 3D-model van werklike stedelike terrein word ge¨ımplementeer deur gebruik te maak van gevestigde berekeningsgeometrie-tegnieke en die bewegingsbeperkings van die UAVs is ingestel om di´e van werklike UAVs voor te stel. Monte Carlo simulasies is ontwerp om die prestasie van die leidingstelsel in verskillende scenarios te evalueer en te vergelyk deur beide illustratiewe en statistiese resultate te analiseer. Die illustratiewe resultate wys dat die roetebeplanner en konflikvermydingsfunksie optree soos verwag in gegewe scenarios. Die statistiese resultate bevestig dat die werkverrigting van die roetebeplanner op laer hoogtes afneem en dui ook daarop dat dit met roosteragtige terrein kan sukkel, terwyl die mislukkingskoers van die konflikvermydingsfunksie blykbaar nie sterk met enige gegewe scenario gekorreleer is nie. ’n Gekombineerde stel vermydingsmaneuvers is die doeltreffendste vir konflikvermyding maar het die langste uitvoeringstye, terwyl lugspoedmaneuvers wat in isolasie gebruik word die minste doeltreffend is en horisontale maneuvers die minste optimaal is met die grootste gemiddelde afwykings van ’n UAV se langtermynroete. ’n Enkele vermydingsmaneuvertipe wat in isolasie gebruik word, toon belowende uitvoeringstye vir ’n intydse toepassing.af_ZA
dc.description.versionMastersen_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttps://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/130394en_ZA
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.language.isoen_ZAen_ZA
dc.publisherStellenbosch : Stellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.rights.holderStellenbosch Universityen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshDrone aircraften_ZA
dc.subject.lcshUnmanned Aerial Vehicleen_ZA
dc.subject.lcshUrban ecology (Sociology)en_ZA
dc.titleAutonomous guidance and conflict avoidance for multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in urban environmentsen_ZA
dc.typeThesisen_ZA
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Graduation - 2024 - March (Open Access)