Distributed decision making for unmanned aerial vehicle inspection with limited energy constraint

The unsatisfactory energy density of the state-of-art batteries imposes constraints on the practical application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Establishing a UAV airport network that integrates energy supply and information exchange functionalities represents an ideal solution for enabling synergistic UAV operations. However, devising efficient distribution protocols for these airports remains a challenge. By leveraging modeling and analysis of the energy density of existing UAV batteries, we can forecast the flight range and distances achievable by UAVs. Here, we propose a distribution protocol for UAV airport platforms aimed at enhancing distribution accuracy by the use of AI principles. Furthermore, considering the possibility of emergency UAV stop, we introduce an emergency stop system in conjunction with standard stopping procedures to optimize distribution efficiency and enhance UAV inspection safety. Moreover, existing UAV airports usually provide energy to UAVs without harnessing UAVs to facilitate interconnection and interoperability among different airports. This inefficiency leads to significant resource wastage in energy distribution. To address this, we introduce a shared energy network that allows different companies to operate according to energy distribution needs. This network not only supplies energy to UAVs but also employs UAVs for energy collection and transportation, facilitating energy trading, business collaboration, and data transmission among diverse organizations. By enabling ubiquitous energy trading, this study provides us an ideal strategy for the future construction of energy network with interconnection and interoperability, which can be extended to other applications calling for energy distribution. [Display omitted] •Proposing a system and method for allocating airport platforms in UAV missions.•Proposing a method for UAV allocation under risk avoidance mode.•Simulating multiple scenarios to evaluate the allocation methods.•Promising results for several evaluation metrics.