Consensus Protocols for Improved Survivability in Autonomous Groups of UAV

Autonomy in the operation of collectives of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for the execution of complex applications and missions including monitoring, surveillance, delivery of essential and critical supplies, communications network operation and many others, can be desired for several essential reasons, including resource and cost efficiency, responsiveness to situations and events, reliability and other factors. In this work, we addressed the problem of ensuring reliable and seamless coordination in autonomous operation of a group of autonomous UAVs. Based on relevant examples, key requirements for the functions and protocols of exchanging information in an autonomous aerial group were discussed and formulated. The results can be instrumental in the design and development of practical autonomous unmanned aerial systems.