Multi-sensor network-based trajectory planning for an internet of UAVs

In this paper, we present a multi-sensor network-based autonomous trajectory planning scheme for collision avoidance for multiple aerial vehicles. When multiple aerial vehicles are involved in a possible collision, all the aerial vehicles start to form a network by exchanging their information and intentions so as to resolve collisions by maintaining a relative static velocity with respect to their neighbors. Three problems that have arisen from the above process are solved in this paper: (1) how to form a multi-sensor network for the aerial vehicles involved in a possible collision; (2) how a newcomer joins an existing network; and (3) how each aerial vehicle leaves a network and continues to fly in its own direction. Simulations show that, compared with other collision avoidance algorithms, the multi-sensor network-based scheme can solve a large-scale collision avoidance problem and save computation time.