Formation Analysis for a Fleet of Drones: A Mathematical Framework

Emiliano Traversi, Michal Barcis, Lorenzo Bellone, Agata Barcis, Dina Ahmim-Bonaldi, Eliseo Ferrante, Enrico Natalizio

2025

Abstract

We consider a dynamic coverage scenario, where a group of agents (e.g., Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)) is exploring an environment in search of a moving target (e.g., survivors on a lifeboat). We assume UAVs are capable to achieve, maintain, and move in formation (e.g., to maintain connectivity). This paper addresses the question “Which formation maximizes the chance of finding the target?”. We propose a mathematical framework to answer this question. The proposed framework is generic and can be easily applied to various formations and missions. We show how the framework can identify which formation will result in better performance in the type of missions we consider. We analyze how different factors, namely the target speed relative to the group, affect the performance of the formations. We validate the framework against simulations of the considered scenarios. The supplementary video material including the real-world implementation is available at https://youtu.be/ mYmTnAJi-I?si=dSmVVNZOjj5NbSG1.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Traversi E., Barcis M., Bellone L., Barcis A., Ahmim-Bonaldi D., Ferrante E. and Natalizio E. (2025). Formation Analysis for a Fleet of Drones: A Mathematical Framework. In Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence - Volume 1: ICAART; ISBN 978-989-758-737-5, SciTePress, pages 471-480. DOI: 10.5220/0013189400003890

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icaart25,
author={Emiliano Traversi and Michal Barcis and Lorenzo Bellone and Agata Barcis and Dina Ahmim-Bonaldi and Eliseo Ferrante and Enrico Natalizio},
title={Formation Analysis for a Fleet of Drones: A Mathematical Framework},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence - Volume 1: ICAART},
year={2025},
pages={471-480},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013189400003890},
isbn={978-989-758-737-5},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Agents and Artificial Intelligence - Volume 1: ICAART
TI - Formation Analysis for a Fleet of Drones: A Mathematical Framework
SN - 978-989-758-737-5
AU - Traversi E.
AU - Barcis M.
AU - Bellone L.
AU - Barcis A.
AU - Ahmim-Bonaldi D.
AU - Ferrante E.
AU - Natalizio E.
PY - 2025
SP - 471
EP - 480
DO - 10.5220/0013189400003890
PB - SciTePress