Architecture for Emergency Control of Autonomous UAV Ensembles

Applying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has benefits for many different use-cases. Existing implementations of ground control stations (GCS) to manage UAVs in such scenarios already provide some support for the operation of multi-unit systems, i.e., ensembles. However, since they are usually designed for the operation of only one copter at once, this is often not sufficient to react quickly in dangerous situations, e.g., search and rescue scenarios. To address this problem, we propose an approach for easy observation and control of complete autonomous UAV ensembles: The Intention of our approach is to greatly reduce the number of personnel required for the operation of an UAV ensemble. Thereby, we generate the possibility for rapid intervention in potentially dangerous situations in order to prevent damage to the UAVs and the environment. In this paper, we present a software architecture for this safety-critical multi UAV ground control station including a fully implemented prototype which we also tested in a realistic environment.