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Towards Autonomous Micro UAV Swarms

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Abstract

Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) such as quadrocopters have gained great popularity over the last years, both as a research platform and in various application fields. However, some complex application scenarios call for the formation of swarms consisting of multiple drones. In this paper a platform for the creation of such swarms is presented. It is based on commercially available quadrocopters enhanced with on-board processing and communication units enabling full autonomy of individual drones. Furthermore, a generic ground control station is presented that serves as integration platform. It allows the seamless coordination of different kinds of sensor platforms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Optronik, Systemtechnik und Bildauswertung, Fraunhofer IOSB, Fraunhoferstraße 1, 76131, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Axel Bürkle, Florian Segor & Matthias Kollmann

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  1. Axel Bürkle
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  2. Florian Segor
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  3. Matthias Kollmann
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Correspondence to Axel Bürkle.

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Bürkle, A., Segor, F. & Kollmann, M. Towards Autonomous Micro UAV Swarms. J Intell Robot Syst 61, 339–353 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-010-9492-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-010-9492-x

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