System and method for operator control of heterogeneous unmanned system teams
A control architecture and associated control methods are under development to allow a single user to control a team of multiple heterogeneous UMS as they conduct multi-faceted (i.e. multi-objective) missions in real time is disclosed. The control architecture is hierarchical, modular and layered and enables operator interaction at each layer, ensuring the human operator is in close control of the unmanned team at all times. The architecture and key data structures are introduced. Two approaches to distributed collaborative control of heterogeneous unmanned systems are described, including an extension of homogeneous swarm control and a novel application of distributed model predictive control. Initial results are presented, demonstrating heterogeneous UMS teams conducting collaborative missions.