Swarm technology and digital twinning to enable coordination and utilisation of high numbers of 100kg payload UAVs in aid delivery and firefighting applications

无人驾驶飞行器（uav）有可能成为民用应用的现实，如货物运输、援助交付或消防。例如，windrers公司开发的ULTRA无人机目前正在接受测试，用于向怀特岛运送COVID-19医疗用品。它是一种大型，双引擎，固定翼无人机，承载能力可达100公斤，使其成为无人机市场上独特的平台。为了使无人机解决方案规模化，供应商将需要部署大量运行的无人机群，最多可达100架。蜂群解决方案建立在无人机对其本地环境和邻近无人机做出反应的能力之上，而无需通过中央控制站进行协调，使解决方案更具可扩展性，并且对单个机器人或地面站故障具有鲁棒性。这给无人机在整个部署过程中的协调算法设计带来了新的挑战，从加油和装载到空中导航，再到有效载荷（货物、救援物资、灭火剂）的交付。这些算法需要在真实的数字孪生环境中开发，只需点击一下就可以在实际无人机上进行测试，在模拟和现实之间无缝切换。除了软件之外，集群部署还需要新的无人机硬件，允许机器人之间的协调和通信。该提案的重点是通过开发数字孪生来实现ULTRA无人机的群部署，该数字孪生允许一键将群控制器从模拟转移到现实。将围绕人道主义援助交付和森林火灾缓解开发两个用例，因为我们预计这两个应用都需要大量无人机才能产生有意义的影响。在项目结束时，我们将展示5架无人机的概念验证飞行。与此同时，我们还将为ultra开发新的硬件，以实现对集群至关重要的机器人间通信。该提案将ULTRA固定翼100公斤有效载荷无人机的制造商Windracers与分布式航空电子设备、航空电子设备、地面站和ULTRAs飞行控制软件方面的专家以及布里斯托尔大学在蜂群工程方面的专业知识结合在一起。

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have the potential to become a reality for civil applications such as the transport of goods, aid delivery, or firefighting.The ULTRA unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by Windracers is currently being tested to transport COVID-19 medical supplies to the Isle of Wight for example. It is a large, double engine, fix winged, drone with a carrying capacity of up to 100kg, making it a unique platform in the UAV market. For UAV solutions to scale, providers will need to deploy swarms that operate in large numbers, up to 100s. Swarm solutions build on the ability of UAVs to react to their local environment and neighbouring UAVs without having to coordinate through a central control station, making solutions more scalable to large numbers and robust to individual robot or ground station failure. This raises new challenges in the design of algorithms that coordinate the UAVs throughout their deployment, from refuelling and loading, to in-air navigation, and delivery of their payload (goods, aid, extinguishing agent). These algorithms need to be developed in realistic digital twin environments that are just one-click away from testing on board the actual UAVs, seamlessly switching between simulation and reality. Beyond the software, swarm deployments require new UAV hardware allowing for inter-robot coordination, and communication.This proposal focusses on enabling swarm deployments of the ULTRA UAV through the development of a digital twin that allows for single-click transfer of swarm controllers from simulation to reality. Two use cases will be developed centered around humanitarian aid delivery, and forest fire mitigation, as we expect both applications to require large numbers of UAVs to have a meaningful impact. By the end of the project we will demonstrate a proof-of-concept flight with 5 UAVs. In parallel, we will also work on new hardware for the ULTRAs to allow for inter-robot communication essential for swarming.This proposal brings together Windracers, the makers of the ULTRA fixed wing 100kg payload UAV, with Distributed Avionics, experts in avionics, ground station, and flight control software for the ULTRAs, and University of Bristol with expertise in swarm engineering.