AERPAW Completes First Four-UAV Live Experiment in the Testbed
AERPAW successfully conducted its first live four-UAV coordinated flight experiment in the AERPAW testbed, marking an important milestone in multi-drone autonomous research. The experiment was designed and implemented by Baisakhi C., a doctoral research student at NC State University, and demonstrated coordinated control of four UAVs tasked with identifying and surrounding the boundary of a virtual spherical plume.
Despite early challenges related to radio frequency coordination and GPS-based collision detection, the team adapted in real time and achieved a full end-to-end flight. The UAVs autonomously executed the mission, formed around the virtual plume, and safely returned to their launch locations.
This successful live deployment validates key components of AERPAW’s multi-UAV experimentation capabilities and highlights the robustness of the platform when transitioning from simulation to real-world conditions. The experiment sets the stage for more advanced coordinated aerial experiments in the testbed.
