Target search and tracking using a fleet of UAVs in presence of decoys and obstacles

This paper addresses the problem of searching and tracking of an a priori unknown number of indistinguishable targets spread over some geographical area using a fleet of UAVs. State perturbations and measurement noises are assumed to belong to bounded sets. In the monitored geographical area, some false targets (decoys) are present and may be erroneously considered as targets when observed under specific conditions. Moreover, obstacles in the search area constrain the displacements of the targets, alter the UAVs' trajectories, reduce their fields of view, and limit their communications. While the UAVs can detect targets or decoys when observation conditions are satisfied, they cannot identify them individually. The search process relies on a robust bounded-error estimation approach which aim is to evaluate a set guaranteed to contain the actual states of already localized true targets and a set containing the states of targets still to be discovered. These two sets are used by each UAV to determine their control inputs in a distributed way to minimize future estimation uncertainty. Simulations involving several UAVs illustrate that the proposed robust set-membership estimator and distributed control laws make it possible to efficiently search and track targets in the presence of decoys in a cluttered area.