A UAV solution of regional surveillance based on pheromones and artificial potential field theory

In recent years, the regional surveillance has an increasingly range of applications. This paper proposes a solution for using multiple UAVs to regional surveillance based on pheromones and artificial potential field theory. First, the flight environment of target area is divided into a number of units. Then, the pheromones model is applied in each unit. Due to the diffusibility of pheromones, a gradient of pheromones would be formed in the target area. After that, the UAV would fly along the gradient of pheromones towards the high intensity areas. Finally, the solution is improved with artificial potential field theory for successfully resolving the issues of obstacle avoidance, collision avoidance and optimal search. Simulations in three cases have been carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed solution.