Date of Graduation

2007

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Committee Chair

Bojan Cukic

Committee Member

Tim Menzies

Committee Member

Bojan Cukic

Abstract

The main focus of this research and thesis was the development of a decentralized framework for the cooperative control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The goal of the software was to coordinate multiple UAVs to perform a wide area search on a defined area. The developed algorithms were based on the idea that simple rules can be programmed leading to an overall complex behavior. The simple algorithm that was developed illustrates a high level of autonomy, including reactive behavior without human interaction. The developed software was tested and run onboard an actual hardware avionics unit with a payload computer in the loop.

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