Priority-Based Dynamic Multi-UAV Positioning for Multi-Target Search and Connectivity*

In case of large-scale disasters such as earthquakes, where urban and public infrastructure might be destroyed, multiple unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or multi-drone systems can be very beneficial to rescue teams, by enabling them to carry out multiple tasks simultaneously, such as detecting, monitoring, and connecting multiple targets simultaneously. In this work, we propose an event-driven algorithm that integrates a novel connectivity-based prioritization of targets into dynamic positioning and path planning for multi-UAV systems in search and rescue (SAR) missions. Two distinct groups of UAVs are deployed. While search UAVs sense the area of interest as fast as possible, relay UAVs provide connectivity to search UAVs as well as targets depending on their priority level. Our results show that network formation and target connectivity can be improved up to 60% compared to a benchmark path planner that does not consider connectivity priorities.