Comprehensive Framework for Control and Coordination of UAV Swarms in Wildfire Management

Abstract

Wildfires pose a significant threat to ecosystems and human lives, underscoring the necessity of early detection and rapid response to mitigate the devastating effects of these fires. In recent times, advancements in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology have provided new avenues for enhancing wildfire monitoring and response. This chapter explores the potential of an innovative framework for UAV swarms that can be controlled and coordinated autonomously for managing wildfires. The comprehensive framework also integrates other technologies such as computer vision, sensor networks, swarm intelligence, and reinforcement learning algorithms to enable collaborative and autonomous UAV swarm operation. The framework addresses navigation challenges in dense forest environments, facilitates swarm coordination, and enables data-driven decision-making for wildfires and diverse real-world applications. This chapter also provides insights into the method of implementation in a simulated 100X100 2D grid environment, showcasing its potential and effectiveness in realistic scenarios.