An Evolutionary Robotics 3D model for autonomous MAVs navigation , target tracking and group coordination

The work presented herein describes an application of Evolutionary Robotics controller design methodologies to the domain of Micro-unmanned Aerial Vehicles (MAVs). The aim of this paper is to extend and validate preliminary results obtained through a simplified 2D simulator, to a more realistic 3D model. After a technical introduction of the newly developed simulation model, the results generated by three different experimental setups - all of them focused on autonomous navigation toward a specific target area - are described. The first scenario simply involves a single MAV navigating through a plain environment toward a non-movable target. In the second setup the target is able to move away, at different speeds, when approached by the aircraft. Finally, in the third scenario, teams consisting of more than one MAV are employed; the team members have to coordinate among themselves - exploiting implicit communication strategies - in order to reach the target at the same time. The nature of the tasks studied requires a high level of accuracy by the controllers, something which is not common in most of the ER literature.