Leveraging Connectivity for Coverage in Drone Networks for Target Detection

Abstract

Target or event detection is one of the main applications
of drone networks. Several cooperative search algorithms
have been proposed for teams of unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs), where the goal is to minimize search time or
maximize detection probability. In these works, connectivity often
is considered a constraint in enabling cooperation. In this paper,
we approach the target detection problem in drone networks
from both detection and connectivity viewpoints. Our goal is not
only to find a stationary target but also to inform the ground
personnel (e.g., a rescue team) about the status of the target over
a multi-hop communication chain. We analyze the performance
of our coverage-based and connectivity-based path planning
algorithms in terms of probability and time of detection as well as
notification. We show that there is a trade-off between coverage
and connectivity and with limited number of drones both aspects
need to be considered for successful mission completion.

Keywords

• target detection,monitoring,swarms,networking,drones

References

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