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Time-Efficient Multi-Region SAR Imaging with Heterogeneous UAVs: Joint Task Assignment and Path Planning.

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Title: Time-Efficient Multi-Region SAR Imaging with Heterogeneous UAVs: Joint Task Assignment and Path Planning.
Authors: Song, Deyu1,2 (AUTHOR), Zhang, Xiangyin1,2,3 (AUTHOR) zhangzxy@uestc.edu.cn, Wang, Baichuan1,2,3 (AUTHOR), Zhong, Yalin1,2 (AUTHOR), Yao, Yuan1,2 (AUTHOR), Qin, Kaiyu1,2,3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Remote Sensing. May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 10, p1558. 30p.
Subjects: Robotic path planning, Resource allocation, Remote sensing, Drone aircraft, Optimization algorithms, Synthetic aperture radar
Abstract: Highlights: What are the main findings? A joint optimization framework is developed for heterogeneous SAR-UAV task assignment and path planning in multi-region imaging missions. The proposed ADCP and DSBOA methods improve workload matching and path quality, reducing mission completion time compared with baseline methods. What is the implication of the main findings? The proposed framework provides a practical solution for improving SAR information acquisition efficiency in realistic multi-region imaging applications. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide a highly flexible platform for synthetic aperture radar (SAR), enabling efficient, high-quality imaging in remote sensing applications. In realistic imaging missions, regions of interest (ROIs) usually have different sizes and spatial distributions. While deploying SAR-UAVs with heterogeneous flight and imaging capabilities can improve mission time efficiency, realizing this improvement depends critically on task assignment and path planning. In this paper, the joint task assignment and path planning problem for heterogeneous SAR-UAVs in multi-region imaging missions is addressed. First, flight and imaging models of SAR-UAVs are established, and a constrained optimization problem is formulated to minimize the mission completion time. Then, an improved clustering strategy based on area-density and cost prediction (ADCP) is proposed to align ROI-dependent imaging workloads with heterogeneous SAR-UAV capabilities, thereby leveraging capability advantages and reducing the mission completion time. Finally, a discrete secretary bird optimization algorithm (DSBOA) is developed to generate feasible, high-quality paths. To accelerate convergence, UAV paths are encoded as waypoint sequences, and a mutation-based operator is introduced to update the population. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations show that the proposed approach consistently outperforms the baselines in mission completion time, demonstrating its effectiveness in improving time efficiency for multi-region SAR imaging missions. Ablation experiments further confirm the independent contributions of the proposed ADCP method and DSBOA algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Label: Title
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  Data: Time-Efficient Multi-Region SAR Imaging with Heterogeneous UAVs: Joint Task Assignment and Path Planning.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Song%2C+Deyu%22">Song, Deyu</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhang%2C+Xiangyin%22">Zhang, Xiangyin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> zhangzxy@uestc.edu.cn</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Baichuan%22">Wang, Baichuan</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Zhong%2C+Yalin%22">Zhong, Yalin</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yao%2C+Yuan%22">Yao, Yuan</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Qin%2C+Kaiyu%22">Qin, Kaiyu</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Remote+Sensing%22">Remote Sensing</searchLink>. May2026, Vol. 18 Issue 10, p1558. 30p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Robotic+path+planning%22">Robotic path planning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Resource+allocation%22">Resource allocation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Remote+sensing%22">Remote sensing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Drone+aircraft%22">Drone aircraft</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Optimization+algorithms%22">Optimization algorithms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Synthetic+aperture+radar%22">Synthetic aperture radar</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Highlights: What are the main findings? A joint optimization framework is developed for heterogeneous SAR-UAV task assignment and path planning in multi-region imaging missions. The proposed ADCP and DSBOA methods improve workload matching and path quality, reducing mission completion time compared with baseline methods. What is the implication of the main findings? The proposed framework provides a practical solution for improving SAR information acquisition efficiency in realistic multi-region imaging applications. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide a highly flexible platform for synthetic aperture radar (SAR), enabling efficient, high-quality imaging in remote sensing applications. In realistic imaging missions, regions of interest (ROIs) usually have different sizes and spatial distributions. While deploying SAR-UAVs with heterogeneous flight and imaging capabilities can improve mission time efficiency, realizing this improvement depends critically on task assignment and path planning. In this paper, the joint task assignment and path planning problem for heterogeneous SAR-UAVs in multi-region imaging missions is addressed. First, flight and imaging models of SAR-UAVs are established, and a constrained optimization problem is formulated to minimize the mission completion time. Then, an improved clustering strategy based on area-density and cost prediction (ADCP) is proposed to align ROI-dependent imaging workloads with heterogeneous SAR-UAV capabilities, thereby leveraging capability advantages and reducing the mission completion time. Finally, a discrete secretary bird optimization algorithm (DSBOA) is developed to generate feasible, high-quality paths. To accelerate convergence, UAV paths are encoded as waypoint sequences, and a mutation-based operator is introduced to update the population. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations show that the proposed approach consistently outperforms the baselines in mission completion time, demonstrating its effectiveness in improving time efficiency for multi-region SAR imaging missions. Ablation experiments further confirm the independent contributions of the proposed ADCP method and DSBOA algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Robotic path planning
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      – SubjectFull: Resource allocation
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      – SubjectFull: Remote sensing
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      – SubjectFull: Drone aircraft
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      – SubjectFull: Optimization algorithms
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      – SubjectFull: Synthetic aperture radar
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      – TitleFull: Time-Efficient Multi-Region SAR Imaging with Heterogeneous UAVs: Joint Task Assignment and Path Planning.
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              Text: May2026
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