UNM Students: Jean-Elie Pierre
Senior Contributors: Dr. Rafael Fierro (UNM), Xiang Sun
In the realm of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), the ability for multiple autonomous UAVs to arrive at predefined destinations simultaneously is critical—whether to transport heavy payloads cooperatively or to synchronize actions in mission-critical scenarios. However, this task is far from simple. UAVs must navigate complex spatial environments, not only avoiding collisions with each other, but also steering clear of non-cooperative flying objects (NCFOs) that aren’t part of the system.
To tackle this challenge, the MARHES Lab has contributed to the development of MORRIS—the safe terminal tiMe-cOordinated contRolleR for multI-uav Systems. MORRIS is a novel safe linear quadratic optimal control algorithm designed to achieve time-synchronized arrivals while also ensuring collision-free trajectories.
MORRIS is made up of two integrated components:
1. Terminal Time-Coordinated Planner: Calculates optimal acceleration inputs to minimize the timing error between actual and desired arrival times for all UAVs.
2. Safety Layer using Control Barrier Functions (CBFs): Adjusts those acceleration commands to guarantee that the UAVs maintain safe distances from each other and from NCFOs, ensuring real-time collision avoidance.
This layered approach means that MORRIS not only keeps UAVs safely spaced in dynamic environments but also ensures that they complete their missions in perfect temporal coordination.