A Novel Communications Protocol Using Geographic Routing for Swarming UAVs Performing a Search Mission

<p>This research develops the UAV Search Mission Protocol (USMP) for swarming UAVs and determines the protocol's effect on search mission performance. It is hypothesized that geographically routing USMP messages improves search performance by providing geography-dependent data to locations where it impacts search decisions. It is also proposed that the swarm can use data collected by the geographic routing protocol to accurately determine UAV locations and avoid sending explicit location updates. The hypothesis is tested by developing several USMP designs that are combined with the Greedy Perimeter Stateless Routing (GPSR) protocol and a search mission swarm logic into a single network simulation. The test designs use various transmission power levels sensor types and swarm sizes. The simulation collects performance metrics for each scenario including measures of distance traveled UAV direction changes number of searches and search concentration. USMP significantly improves mission performance over scenarios without inter-UAV communication. However protocol designs that simply broadcast messages improve search performance by 83% in total searches and 20% in distance traveled compared to geographic routing candidates. Additionally sending explicit location updates generates 3%-6% better performance per metric versus harvesting GPSR's location information.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>