UAV Planner™, is an advanced planning and scheduling application that provides optimized task scheduling and resource allocation for unmanned aerial vehicles. UAV Planner allows operators, designers and engineers to model their UAV systems and perform operational scheduling and analysis - right out of the box.
UAV Planner™, has an expected software release date in mid 2008. Orbit Logic’s UAV Planner is based on proven satellite Collection Planning Software from Orbit Logic. The major features of UAV Planner™ include:
- Target/Task Order Definition and Management
- Resource and Sensor Configuration and Management
- Multiple Aircraft Sortie Management and Planning
- Automated Flight/Route Planning
- Automated Image Collection Planning
- Aircraft Model Plug In
- Configurable 3D maps using Google Earth™
- Lights-Out and Manual Planning Options
Key Features
Resource Definition and Management
- UAV Planner will allow new recon aircraft to be added to the system
- Define parameters including imaging capabilities
- Specify associated aircraft object
- Define unavailability (blackout) times
Task Order Definition and Management
- Accept new task orders via XML message interface
- Task orders maintained in UAV Planner Task Order Database
- Create new task order and edit existing task orders via GUI
- Interactive map options available
Automated Planning
- UAV Planner will automatically plan the flight path and collection schedule for an aircraft sortie within aircraft capabilities and to maximize the value of collected imagery
- Multiple algorithms will compete to optimize the returned plan
Aircraft Model Plug In
- UAV Planner™ planning algorithms will have the ability to interact with aircraft models through a plug-in, such as the STK Aircraft Mission Modeler*, in much the same way that they interact today with satellite attitude slew models in Orbit Logic satellite collection planning software.
- A plug-in aircraft model will determine the flight path during candidate imaging events based on UAV Planner specified start, end, and rate requirements
- Our software (coupled with a plug-in aircraft model) will determine the flight path between candidate imaging events based on image event start and end states provided by UAV Planner™
Interactive 3D maps and plan animation through integration with Google Earth™
- UAV Planner will use Google Earth™ to display maps and animation driven by plan data using a process proven in satellite planning systems from Orbit Logic
Manual Planning and Analysis
- UAV Planner will support manual planning using the ops concept and methods proven in Orbit Logic' s deployed satellite collection planning software
- GUI allows an operator to influence automated planning algorithms or make changes to plans manually, or define a plan from scratch manually
- The software assists the operator by providing default collection parameters for each image, and by applying constraint models to notify the operator when a system or mission constraint has been violated
UAV Planner Scalability
- Scalable architecture through clustered computing architecture
- Planning Manager application manages multiple planning workstations on the network
Lights-Out Automation
- Planning Manager software has knowledge of scheduled sorties and will auto-task available planning workstations to generate an optimized flight plan/collection plan before required deadline
- Auto-generated plans are forwarded to the command system in time for command generation and upload to the aircraft
- Automated planning may be disabled by the operator
- Use of workstations for support of automated planning is limited by workstation - service request - blackout periods
In-Flight Re-Tasking
- If an aircraft resource in UAV Planner is defined as enabled for in-flight re-tasking, the operator will be allowed to re-plan an ongoing sortie (starting from current time plus a defined buffer forward)
- Algorithms will optimize plan from current time forward using the latest order database (which may include changes since the original plan was generated)
- Attempting to forward a new/modified plan that contains changes prior to current time plus configurable buffer will be blocked by the software
