ANALYSIS OF METHODS AND MEANS OF CONTROLLING AUTONOMOUS UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES

Abstract

The current paper highlights the widespread utilization of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) across a broad spectrum of civilian roles, ranging from search and rescue, surveillance, traffic monitoring, weather tracking, and firefighting, to personal drones, business photography based on UAVs, as well as videography, agriculture, and even delivery services. UAVs are extensively employed in warfare against the Russian Federation. The most common UAV control methods are analyzed, with detailed descriptions provided for the key approaches. It is emphasized that among the intellectual models describing UAV spatial movement, the route-planning method stands out. This method is based on the application of mathematical expectation of informational entropy to evaluate the optimality of alternative route options. In recent times, Delaunay triangulation is increasingly employed to solve UAV route-planning tasks. In this case, the route is defined as a set of intermediate route points (IRPs) that must be traversed. The nature of the UAV’s movement between arbitrary points on the map does not impose rigid constraints, thus enabling trajectory generation that maximally considers UAV’s dynamic capabilities. However, known route-planning methods based on Delaunay triangulation fail to account for crucial aspects such as uncertainty in the locations of potential threat sources (enemy air defense posts), the presence of different types of UAVs within a group, requiring their prioritization, and the heterogeneity of ground target objects, necessitating the consideration of the importance level of each. Thanks to advancements in satellite technologies, projects involving low Earth orbit (LEO) systems are currently being implemented. Amazon’s Kuiper, SpaceX’s Starlink, and OneWeb are three major upcoming projects of LEO satellite clusters promising high-speed broadband connectivity with minimal latency worldwide.

The paper concludes that a promising innovative solution for UAV control lies in wireless communication, which converges ground, satellite, and unmanned stations. Atmospheric structure peculiarities and advantages of satellite technologies enable the application of multilevel altitude models, enhancing throughput capacity.