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Modelling the mobile target covering problem using flying drones

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Abstract

This paper addresses the mobile targets covering problem by using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It is assumed that each UAV has a limited initial energy and the energy consumption is related to the UAV’s altitude. Indeed, the higher the altitude, the larger the monitored area and the higher the energy consumption. When an UAV runs out of battery, it is replaced by a new one. The aim is to locate UAVs in order to cover the piece of plane in which the target moves by using a minimum number of UAVs. Each target has to be monitored for each instant time. The problem under consideration is mathematically represented by defining mixed integer non-linear optimization models. Heuristic procedures are defined and they are based on restricted mixed integer programming (MIP) formulation of the problem. A computational study is carried out to assess the behaviour of the proposed models and MIP-based heuristics. A comparison in terms of efficiency and effectiveness among models and heuristics is carried out.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the reviewers for their helpful comments. This work has been partially supported by a grant from CPER Nord-Pas-de-Calais/FEDER Campus Intelligence Ambiante.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanics, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, CS, Italy

    Luigi Di Puglia Pugliese & Francesca Guerriero

  2. Inria Lille, Nord Europe, Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France

    Dimitrios Zorbas & Tahiry Razafindralambo

Authors
  1. Luigi Di Puglia Pugliese
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  2. Francesca Guerriero
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  3. Dimitrios Zorbas
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  4. Tahiry Razafindralambo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luigi Di Puglia Pugliese.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 14, 15, 16 and 17.

Table 14 Computational results obtained when solving \(M_1\), \(M_2\), and \(M_c\)
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Table 15 Computational results obtained with the MIP-based heuristics when solving model \(M_1\)
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Table 16 Computational results obtained with the MIP-based heuristics when solving model \(M_2\)
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Table 17 Computational results obtained with the MIP-based heuristics when solving model \(M_c\)
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Di Puglia Pugliese, L., Guerriero, F., Zorbas, D. et al. Modelling the mobile target covering problem using flying drones. Optim Lett 10, 1021–1052 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11590-015-0932-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11590-015-0932-1

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