Interface for controlling a group of unmanned aerial vehicles, taking into account the operator's characteristics

Abstract

This article examines the problem of controlling a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating in a changing environment, with degraded communication quality and incomplete a priori information about the current situation, potentially leading to communication loss. It is shown that requirements must be imposed on the swarm of UAVs themselves, on the operator who controls the swarm and monitors its movements, as well as on the types of interfaces and their qualitative characteristics. A method for studying operator capabilities is proposed, based on determining the time characteristics of switching operating modes depending on observed phenomena and control capabilities. As part of the study, various methods of information processing are identified and their quality assessed. Based on these characteristics, the feasibility of controlling a swarm of UAVs and preventing loss of control over the swarm is assessed. To prevent false alarms, a justification for the most important characteristics is proposed. Modeling results show that the proposed approach reduces the impact of possible distractions to maintain control over the swarm of UAVs.