🚁 Drone Swarm Simulator

A robust, open-source framework for simulating drone swarms in search-and-rescue operations and target acquisition scenarios. This simulator provides researchers, developers, and robotics enthusiasts with a flexible platform to experiment with various swarm coordination strategies, decision-making algorithms, and search patterns.

🎯 Features

• Realistic drone movement patterns
• Configurable search environments with obstacles
• Pre-implemented search strategies (Row Scan, etc.)
• State machine-based decision logic for autonomous drone behavior
• Optimized Collision Detection using Quadtree spatial partitioning
• Interactive Visualization with Zoom and Pan capabilities
• Extensible architecture for implementing custom algorithms

📋 Requirements

• Python 3.8+ (latest stable version recommended)
• IDE/Editor (VS Code or any preferred code editor)

🔧 Installation

Dependencies

Install all required dependencies with a single command:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Or install individual components:

• Pygame - For rendering and simulation visualization

  pip install pygame

• NumPy - For efficient numerical computations

  pip install numpy

• matplotlib - For plots and visualizations

  pip install matplotlib

🚀 Getting Started

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/luizgiacomossi/Search_Drone_Swarms.git
   cd Search_Drone_Swarms

2. Run the simulator:

   python main.py

🏗️ Project Structure

Search_Drone_Swarms/
│
├── 📄 main.py               # Entry point and main simulation loop
├── 📄 constants.py          # Simulation parameters and configuration
├── 📄 utils.py              # Helper functions and utilities
│
├── 📄 vehicle.py            # Drone physics and movement controllers
├── 📄 state_machine.py      # Decision-making logic for drones
├── 📄 scan.py               # Search algorithms and patterns (Strategies)
├── 📄 grid.py               # Discrete environment representation
├── 📄 obstacle.py           # Environmental obstacle generation
│
├── 📄 swarm_manager.py      # Manages drone list, updates, and physics
├── 📄 display_manager.py    # Handles visualization, zoom, and pan
├── 📄 experiment_manager.py # Manages simulation stats and experiments
├── 📄 quadtree.py           # Spatial partitioning for optimization
│
├── 📁 model/                # Visual assets and drone sprites
├── 📁 assets/               # Screenshots and other assets
├── 📁 examples/             # Example scenarios and configurations
└── 📄 requirements.txt      # Project dependencies

🎮 Controls & Interface

• Space: Pause/Resume simulation
• R: Reset simulation
• +/-: Adjust simulation speed
• ESC: Exit simulator
• Mouse Scroll: Zoom In/Out
• Mouse Click: Place target/obstacle

🔍 Search Strategies

The simulator includes several pre-implemented search strategies:

• Grid Search - Systematic coverage of the entire area
• Spiral Search - Outward spiraling pattern from central point -> Not implemented yet
• Random Walk - Stochastic movement with collision avoidance -> Not implemented yet
• Levy Flight - Bio-inspired search pattern with occasional long jumps -> Not implemented yet

🔧 Configuration

Edit constants.py to modify simulation parameters:

# Simulation parameters
SIM_WIDTH = 1200         # Width of simulation window
SIM_HEIGHT = 800         # Height of simulation window
NUM_DRONES = 10          # Number of drones in swarm
OBSTACLE_DENSITY = 0.05  # Density of obstacles (0.0 to 1.0)

# Drone parameters
DRONE_SPEED = 3.0        # Maximum drone speed
SENSOR_RANGE = 100       # Drone sensor detection radius
COMMUNICATION_RANGE = 200  # Inter-drone communication range

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

📚 Citation

If you use this simulator in your research, please cite:

@software{drone_swarm_simulator,
  author = {Luiz Giacomossi},
  title = {Drone Swarm Simulator},
  year = {2025},
  url = {https://github.com/luizgiacomossi/Search_Drone_Swarms}
}