Scientists from the Saint Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SPC RAS) have developed a software suite intended for the collective operation of drones in challenging environments such as mountainous terrain and densely built-up urban areas. This innovation enables the real-time integration of new unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into flight plans and automatically manages their safe coordination during potential communication failures, according to a statement released by the institution to TASS.
“Unique mathematical and software engineering has been created to orchestrate the coordinated, automated functioning of a swarm of multirotor UAVs. The core of this solution revolves around the concept of dynamic air corridors, where each drone secures a designated virtual space along its designated path. As the drone proceeds, the software progressively constricts this allocated corridor, consequently freeing up airspace for other UAVs. This development is set to improve the safety of drone group operations in complex landscapes, minimize airspace consumption, and boost its overall capacity,” stated Andrey Ronzhin, Director of the SPC RAS, as quoted by the press service.
It is noted that for large-scale logistics, infrastructure monitoring, and emergency search-and-rescue or geological exploration in difficult settings, multirotor drones (those propelled by more than two rotors) are particularly valuable due to their capacity for vertical take-off and landing combined with precise maneuvering and positioning. Nevertheless, expanding their deployment leads to a rapid increase in air traffic density, potentially placing dozens of aircraft within the same operational airspace simultaneously. Therefore, ensuring the secure coordination of these heterogeneous UAV fleets has become an essential requirement.
The press service reports that the system devised at the SPC RAS differs from existing solutions primarily due to its distinct algorithm for dynamically introducing new UAVs into the flight plan in successive stages and allocating the necessary corridors for them. Recalculation of routes for the newly assembled drone formation occurs automatically, without the need to halt or restart the software package.
Testing in a Digital Proving Ground
The institution explained that evaluations of the software were conducted in a virtual environment that simulated four distinct topographical settings: flatlands, rolling hills, mountains, and a mixed-terrain scenario. Each digital testbed hosted dozens of unmanned aerial vehicles executing various assigned missions. The system experienced its peak computational demand during a simulation involving 50 drones operating across the mixed-terrain setting. Despite this extreme load and the increased time required for route planning, the system maintained full operational capacity without any critical failures. All integrated safety protocols remained active, ensuring the prescribed minimum separation between the aerial vehicles was preserved.
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