Cooperative Task Assignment/Path Planning of Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using Genetic Algorithms

Abstract

COOPERATIVE control of multiple UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and/or (unmanned combat aerial vehicles) has been an emerging issue for future application to sophisticated military missions. In particular, various new concepts using UAVs for challenging missions are under active investigation. In the scenarios of some special military missions such as Wide Area Search and Destroy, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and Suppression of Enemy Air Defense (SEAD), the team cooperation of multiple UAVs is key to accomplishing these missions; to effectively use multiple UAVs, task assignment and path planning are crucial steps taken before an actual operation. In this paper, we discuss cooperative task assignment and path planning of multiple UAVs for SEAD missions.