Algorithms for finding reconnaissance routes for UCVs with prespecified sequence of enemies

Abstract

We consider a problem of finding reconnaissance routes of unmanned combat vehicles (UCVs). The terrain reflecting a battlefield is divided by the grid and each grid is given the traverse time of the UCV and risk level, which is determined by the locations of the enemies. For a problem with an objective of minimizing total travel time while considering risk level caused by enemy’s possible attacks. We develop an optimal solution approach and a two-phase heuristic algorithm, both based on dynamic programming. In the heuristic algorithm, we generate feasible paths first, and then we optimize the paths using a solution method for multi-choice knapsack problems. For evaluation of the performance of the proposed algorithms, computational experiments are performed on a number of data sets, and results show that the proposed algorithms gives a solution within an acceptable time for real military operations.