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Optimizing the efficiency of multi-robot CPP missions involves addressing critical factors such as path length, the number of turns, re-visitations, and launch positions. Achieving these goals, particularly in complex and concave ROIs with No-Go Zones, is a challenging task. This work introduces a novel approach to address these challenges, emphasizing the selection of launch points for UAVs. By optimizing launch points, the mission\u2019s energy and time efficiency are significantly enhanced, leading to more efficient coverage of the selected ROIs. To further support our research and foster further exploration on this topic, we provide the open-source implementation of our algorithm and our evaluation mechanisms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s41315-024-00333-2","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,22]],"date-time":"2024-04-22T11:01:35Z","timestamp":1713783695000},"page":"629-647","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Improving time and energy efficiency in multi-UAV coverage operations by optimizing the UAVs\u2019 initial positions"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Aliki","family":"Stefanopoulou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Emmanuel K.","family":"Raptis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Savvas D.","family":"Apostolidis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Socratis","family":"Gkelios","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Athanasios Ch.","family":"Kapoutsis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Savvas A.","family":"Chatzichristofis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Stefanos","family":"Vrochidis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Elias B.","family":"Kosmatopoulos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,22]]},"reference":[{"issue":"8","key":"333_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1007\/s42452-019-0872-y","volume":"1","author":"R Almadhoun","year":"2019","unstructured":"Almadhoun, R., Taha, T., Seneviratne, L., Zweiri, Y.: A survey on multi-robot coverage path planning for model reconstruction and mapping. 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