Impact of Limited Communications on a Cooperative Search Algorithm for Multiple UAVs

This paper investigates the impacts of realistic wireless communications upon a group of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) conducting a distributed global-search algorithm. A simulation of cooperative UAVs is implemented using the OPNETcopy tool. We evaluate the search performance of multiple UAVs when we change (1) communication range and (2) number of UAVs. The performance is evaluated based on the total time it takes for the UAVs to completely scan a given search area, the number of times internal areas are scanned, and the amount of communication throughput achieved/traffic generated. The results indicate that communication ranges and the number of UAVs were found to have a significant impact on the group's ability to search an area. These findings contribute to the research presented in George W.P. York et al., (2006), Daniel Pack et al., (2005), George W.P. York et al., (2005), and Daniel Pack et al., (2003) and demonstrate that the proposed global search algorithm should operate reasonably well in realistic conditions