# Autonomous Aerial Filming With Distributed Lighting by a Team of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

**Authors:** Vít Krátký, Alfonso Alcántara, Jesús Capitán, Petr Štěpán, Martin Saska, Aníbal Ollero  
**arXiv:** [2303.01177](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.01177)  
**Date:** 2023-03-02  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2303.01177v1/

## Key points

- A novel method for autonomous aerial cinematography using a team of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with distributed lighting is presented
- Camera-carrying multi-rotor helicopters have limitations in scenarios with insufficient natural light or static artificial lights
- The proposed approach uses a formation of UAVs to film a target under illumination from various directions, which is a fundamental technique of traditional cinematography
- Multi-UAV trajectory optimization problem is decomposed into separate stages that address non-linear cinematographic aspects and obstacle avoidance, allowing for real-time re-planning and adaptation to changes in dynamic environments
- Performance has been evaluated in both realistic simulation scenarios and field experiments, demonstrating its ability to increase shot quality while planning safe trajectories even in cluttered environments
- Advantages over existing methods include filming under distributed lighting conditions, greater flexibility and adaptability during filming due to real-time re-planning capabilities, and increased safety by enabling obstacle avoidance during flight
- Has significant potential for use in various applications such as movie production, sports events coverage, and surveillance operations.

## Summary

This letter presents a novel method for autonomous aerial cinematography using a team of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with distributed lighting. While camera-carrying multi-rotor helicopters have become popular in cinematography, their usage is limited to scenarios with sufficient natural light or static artificial lights. In contrast, the proposed approach uses a formation of UAVs to film a target under illumination from various directions, which is one of the fundamental techniques of traditional cinematography. To achieve this goal, the authors decompose the multi-UAV trajectory optimization problem into separate stages that address non-linear cinematographic aspects and obstacle avoidance. This allows for real-time re-planning and adaptation to changes in dynamic environments. The performance of the proposed method has been evaluated in both realistic simulation scenarios and field experiments, demonstrating its ability to increase shot quality while planning safe trajectories even in cluttered environments. The authors' approach offers several advantages over existing methods. Firstly, it enables filming under distributed lighting conditions that are difficult to achieve with traditional approaches. Secondly, it allows for greater flexibility and adaptability during filming due to its real-time re-planning capabilities. Finally, it provides increased safety by enabling obstacle avoidance during flight. Overall, this letter presents an innovative solution for autonomous aerial cinematography that has significant potential for use in various applications such as movie production, sports events coverage and surveillance operations.