Coordinated Optimization of Aircraft Routes and Locations of Ground Sensors.

摘要

In this report, an optimal sensor placement tool, developed for determining near-optimal configurations of stationary ground sensors, is generalized to support aircraft routing. This generalization requires characterizing candidate aircraft routes in terms of cost and coverage. Cost can reflect a variety of disincentives, not necessarily monetary for example, a probability of aircraft to be heard on the ground. Several metrics for moving sensor platforms were considered to adequately characterize cost and coverage. The generalized algorithm can be applied to such practical problems as determining the optimal combination of routes for multiple aircraft operations, optimizing routes to supplement ground-sensor coverage, optimizing ground sensors to cover blind spots of aircraft coverage, and simultaneously optimizing static and moving sensor platforms. An example problem that this report considers in detail is unmanned aircraft system (UAS) routing for verification of roadway security while minimizing UAS audibility at specified locations on the ground.