A Hardware Testbed for Multi-UAV Collaborative Ground Convoy Protection in Dynamic Environments

In this paper, we will present a hardware testbed for multi-UAV systems that bridges the gap between algorithm design and field deployment. The testbed allows for UAV coordination algorithms, that have been shown to work in simulation, to be further tested in an environment where limited on-board computational resources, wireless communication constraints, environmental noise, and differences in the UAVs modeled versus actual dynamics come into effect. In particular, we will introduce an efficient assignment algorithm. This algorithm is used in a multi-UAV ground convoy protection scenario, where UAVs escort the ground convoy and are deployed to check potential threats along the way.