Patent 10203701 was granted and assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology on February, 2019 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A mechanism for dynamically allocating tasks among multiple UAVs operating autonomously during a mission is discussed. Task assignment is adjusted by each UAV dynamically during the mission based on criteria related to the individual UAV's operational status and/or mission parameters. Task allocation is determined independently without group communication between the UAVs actively taking part in the mission and without direct communication to a ground-based controller. A communication UAV provides a shared memory space that may be utilized by each UAV in determining its own task allocation.