Air Traffic Management for Collaborative Routing of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles via Potential Fields

Abstract

Aerial cargo transport is anticipated to play a pivotal role in the distribution of goods within urban environments. The shift is propelled by the surge in e-commerce, the imperative to deliver essential supplies to isolated areas, and the growing demand for expedited and more accessible deliveries. Our research introduces a quantifiable standard for defining routing restrictions for Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) using the concept of repulsive potential fields. Furthermore, we propose a scalable infrastructure that facilitates collaborative routing of cargo Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by independent shareholders. The practicality of the infrastructure is validated through a functional prototype implemented at a national scale.