Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


32947.pdf (1.86 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Traffic Management of Small-Unmanned Aerial Systems in an Urban Environment

Dechering, Matthew J
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2634-7913
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554216904089988

Abstract Details

2019, MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering and Applied Science: Mechanical Engineering.
Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management (UTM) and Sense-And-Avoid (SAA) are important topics as the number of civilian s-UAS applications grows. Civilian applications are due to grow by leaps and bounds by 2021. These applications include Potential areas of application include emergency management, law enforcement, infrastructure inspection, precision agriculture, package delivery, and imaging/surveillance. With this increased low-altitude air traffic, algorithms capable of automating s-UAS trajectory planning are important. This thesis examines two algorithms for handling s-UAS traffic in urban environments, including path planning and SAA elements. The first algorithm operates in a 2D domain, uses Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) to provide Sense-And-Avoid features, and uses A* as a top level path planner. In this approach, MILP provides in-depth optimization of the vehicle’s trajectory by modelling its dynamics. The top-level A* reduces the work MILP has to do to model the entire path, by reducing the problem to a set of MILP optimizations within separate finite horizons. This combined algorithm produced 2-dimensional solutions with satisfactory separation for up to 35 s-UAS in a 16000 m^2 area. The second algorithm uses A* as a path planner, and uses a combination of priority and rerouting to resolve 3D trajectory conflicts. It provides a faster, but less thorough solution to UTM problems. It uses A* to route each s-UAS in three dimensions, and then steps through each route until a conflict is detected. When a conflict is detected, it is resolved by re-routing the s-UAS of lower priority around the higher priority s-UAS. The A* with re-routing algorithm provided satisfactory separation for up to 50 s-UAS in areas up to 466556 m^2 in size and volumes 56 m tall. For 30 s-UAS in a 5184 m^2 by 56 m volume, a solution was found with no more than 10 re-routes for a single s-UAS. Both algorithms are analyzed using randomly generated s-UAS missions and terrain data for the greater Cincinnati area. The algorithms provide adequate separation results at minimal cost to traffic timing. The grid-based simulations, while simple to set up, are computationally expensive. Future work would include better models of the airspace with pre-optimized routes that function like roads. A TIN would allow MILP to expand in optimization to 3D, further improving routing.
Manish Kumar, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Kelly Cohen, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
David Thompson, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
80 p.
Mechanical Engineering
UTM; Unmanned Areial Systems; Unmanned Traffic Management; MILP; urban; SAA

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Dechering, M. J. (2019). Traffic Management of Small-Unmanned Aerial Systems in an Urban Environment [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554216904089988

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Dechering, Matthew. Traffic Management of Small-Unmanned Aerial Systems in an Urban Environment. 2019. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554216904089988.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Dechering, Matthew. "Traffic Management of Small-Unmanned Aerial Systems in an Urban Environment." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1554216904089988

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1554216904089988
474
© 2019, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Traffic Management of Small-Unmanned Aerial Systems in an Urban Environment by Matthew J Dechering is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.