Heterogeneous multi-vehicle modular control framework with payload integration

Small unmanned aircraft are being used in an increasing number of applications requiring cooperation between multiple heterogeneous vehicles. Multi-agent control algorithms can be implemented to control such systems but often require an underlying communications framework with integrated payloads. This paper presents a modular heterogeneous multi-agent control framework with payload integration. This framework, named Clark, provides a wireless network between agents without relying on pre-existing communications infrastructure and provides software interfaces for connecting to a variety of payloads. Underlying design requirements that highlight key features of the Clark framework are presented, and an overview of the framework and software architecture is given in the context of fulfilling key design requirements. The architecutre is demonstrated with a flight test of three heterogeneous agents that includes communication performance metrics.