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Unmanned Aircraft Systems

A drone swarm expediting the search for a lost child along a mountain path
before nightfall.

Drone swarms are a transformational technology that can keep human opera-
tors out of harm’s way. Continued advances in drone swarm autonomy will cre-
ate more successful human-machine teams.

In summary, swarms of drones have enormous potential
across a broad spectrum of applications. Although implemen-
tation by the military is already a priority, significant opportu-
nities also exist in the civilian domain.
Advancements in the field have been swift, with the recent
introduction of prototype systems designed for applications
that could hardly have been imagined a decade ago. Progress
will continue in the future, with key challenges involving the
balancing act between autonomy and control and the need to
develop situation-specific assurances that the swarm can be
managed safely, avoiding problems due to either malfunction
or hostile action. The likelihood is great that these challenges
can be met and that swarms of drones will become a wide-
spread phenomenon.
This article was written by Dr. Spencer Lynn, Senior Scientist;
David Koelle, Principal Software Engineer; and Rich Wronski, Vice
President of the Sensing, Perception, and Applied Robotics Division;
at Charles River Analytics (Cambridge, MA). For more informa-
tion, visit http://info.hotims.com/76503-502.

ee Info at http://info.hotims.com/76503-736
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Aerospace & Defense Technology, May 2020 17