Use of the simulation tools for
the management of drone swarms by a research laboratory
Since the beginning of 2020, the University of Le Havre, Normandie Aero Espace, 7CIS and Squadrone System have been working on getting several UAVs to fly autonomously as part of the Le Havre Smart Port City project.
Squadrone System has provided the research teams with 4 simulator solutions to enable them to develop their algorithms for the control / command of drone swarms. This work will be carried out on real physical platforms equipped with a Squadrone System autopilot.
Squadrone System has provided the research teams with 4 simulator solutions to enable them to develop their algorithms for the control / command of drone swarms. This work will be carried out on real physical platforms equipped with a Squadrone System autopilot.
To develop this experiment, several flight simulators (“hardware in the loop” type) were purchased from Squadrone System in addition to the flight controllers, radio communication equipments and PCs embedded in the UAVs.
Each simulator is capable of reproducing the UAV’s dynamic behaviour during flight and is associated with a Raspberry PI type embedded PC, identical to the one installed on the real UAV, on which programming is carried out in C++ language using a function library (API).
The flight of the UAV can be observed in 3D on another PC with the open-source “FlightGear” software and all the flight parameters (GPS coordinates, altitude, heading, speeds, etc.) can be recorded in real time.
experimental set-up
The evaluation of the performance of the formation flight algorithms recently developed and published by the University of Le Havre was therefore carried out in the most realistic conditions possible.
For the real experiments, the group of companies includes 7CIS, a UAV operator in the Le Havre region. Squadrone System has planned to train the telepilots to enable these experiments to be carried out in accordance with current UAV aviation regulations.
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