Towards Using Hybrid Automata for the Mission Planning of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

This paper describes a methodology for the design of flight plans for rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicles based on formal verification. The methodology uses linear hybrid automata to model the aircraft which will be used to perform a given mission, the flight plan that will be executed by that aircraft, the region where the flight will be performed and the meteorological conditions expected at the time the flight will be performed. The resulting model can be formally verified with respect to previously established safety and timeliness requirements, like not running out of fuel or keeping minimum distances from ground during all phases of the mission. The result of this verification can be used to instantiate values in a parameterized flight plan or to assist an operator in incrementally constructing a flight plan whose feasibility can be guaranteed in advance. The methodology is being embedded in a graphical flight plan editor which greatly reduces the time needed to plan a mission and increases the safety of the aircraft’s operation.