Development of a Multi-UAV Simulator to Analyze the Behavior of Operators in Coastal ...

122 Pages·2015·2.38 MB·English

by  Víctor Rodríguez Fernández

Development of a Multi-UAV Simulator
to Analyze the Behavior of Operators in
Coastal Surveillance Missions
Author: V´ıctor Rodr´ıguez Ferna´ndez
Advisor: David Camacho Ferna´ndez
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the Master Degree on
Research and Innovation in Information and Communication Technologies
in the
Escuela Polit´ecnica Superior
Departamento de Ingenier´ıa Informa´tica
April 2015

“Ambition is the path to success. Persistence is the vehicle you arrive in.”
Bill Bradley

Abstract
Escuela Polit´ecnica Superior
Departamento de Ingenier´ıa Inform´atica
Master on Research and Innovation in Information and Communication Technologies
by V´ıctor Rodr´ıguez Fern´andez
This Master Thesis 1 presents the design and development of a computer simulator created for
executing and supervising missions carried out by multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
The aim of this simulator is to provide an open, simple and accessible environment to train
andanalyzetheperformanceandevolutionoflow-experiencedhumanoperatorssupervisingand
controlling a team of UAVs.
This work is divided into two parts. The first one is focused on describing the simulator mech-
anisms and architecture. To accomplish the required accessibility of this tool for novice users,
the simulator has been implemented following a web architecture, where only a web browser is
needed to execute it. Also, in order to engage and challenge the operator, some gamification
elements have been added, bringing the simulation closer to a videogame experience.
The second part of this work uses the developed simulator to carry out several experiments
with novice users. A set of performance metrics is designed to define the profile of a user, and
basedonthoseprofiles,werunandvalidatesomeclusteringalgorithmstoobtaingroupsofusers
with common performance profiles. These results are analyzed to extract behavioral patterns
that distinguish and rank the different users in the experiment, allowing the identification and
selection of potential expert operators.
Keywords
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Human-Robot Interaction, Computer-based Simulation, HTML5,
Web, Videogames, Performance metrics, Clustering, Behavioral patterns
1This work has been funded by Airbus Defence & Space (SAVIER Project: FUAM-076914)

Resumen
Escuela Polit´ecnica Superior
Departamento de Ingenier´ıa Inform´atica
M´aster en Investigaci´on e Innovaci´on de las Tecnolog´ıas de la Informaci´on y las Comunicaciones
por V´ıctor Rodr´ıguez Fern´andez
El presente Trabajo Fin de M´aster 2 presenta el disen˜o y desarrollo de un simulador creado
con el fin de ejecutar y supervisar misiones llevadas a cabo por mu´ltiples Veh´ıculos A´ereos no
Tripulados(UAVs). Elobjetivodeestesimuladoresofrecerunentornosimpleyaccesibledonde
entrenar y analizar el rendimiento y la evoluci´on de operadores inexpertos mientras supervisan
y controlan un equipo de UAVs.
Este trabajo se divide en dos partes. La primera est´a enfocada en describir el funcionamiento
del simulador y su arquitectura. Para lograr la accesibilidad que esta herramienta requiere de
cara a usuarios inexpertos, el simulador ha sido implementado siguiendo una arquitectura web,
donde s´olamente se requiere un navegador web para ejecutarlo. Adem´as, para atraer y retar al
operador, se han introducido algunos elementos de gamificaci´on, que acercan este simulador a
una experiencia propia del mundo de los videojuegos.
Lasegundapartedeltrabajosebasaenelsimuladordesarrolladoparallevaracabovariosexper-
imentosconusuariosinexpertos. Sehadisen˜adounconjuntodem´etricasderendimientoconlas
cualessedefineelperfildeunusuario. Usandoestosperfiles,seejecutanyvalidanalgoritmosde
clustering para obtener grupos de usuarios con perfiles de rendimiento comunes. Los resultados
seanalizandecaraaextraerpatronesdecomportamientoquedistinganalosdiferentesusuarios
del experimento, permitiendo la identificaci´on y selecci´on de operadores expertos potenciales.
Palabras Clave
Sistemas A´ereos no tripulados, Interacci´on humano-robot, Simulaci´on por computadora,
HTML5, Web, M´etricas de rendimiento, Clustering, Patrones de comportamiento
2Este trabajo ha sido financiado por Airbus Defence & Space (Proyecto SAVIER: FUAM-076914)

Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to acknowledge the financial support given by Airbus Defence
& Space under the Savier project (FUAM-076914), as well as all the information and
help provided from the Savier Open Innovation Project members: Jos´e Insenser, Juan
Antonio Henr´ıquez and Gemma Blasco.
Secondly, I would like to thank David Camacho for managing this Master Thesis and
giving me the opportunity to work in this research group, and Antonio Gonz´alez Pardo,
with whom I hope to develop a long and successful career in the next years.
I would like to express my gratitude to all my workmates from the AIDA group, both
thosewhoareworkingnowandthosewholeftuslastyear, speciallytoFernandoPalero.
I am also indebted to all the people who have accompanied me throughout all these
years in the university, specially to Daniel G.V and Diego, who has become my personal
psychologist during the coffee time.
Special thanks to the three people who have been by my side day after day throughout
the course of this Master Thesis: Gema Bello Orgaz, undoubtedly one of the best people
I have had the pleasure of meeting this year, H´ector D. Men´endez, who has tutored the
whole of this work, and to whom I owe most of what I have learned here, and Cristian
Ram´ırezAtencia, whohasbecomeabrothertomeaftermorethan6yearsofcontinuous
working, geeking and laughing together.
Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family, specially to my
mother for being so patient and kind with me, and to Reyes S.G, for giving me, even in
the distance, the strength to accomplish all my goals and the smile to go through all of
them.
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