Target tracking by two UAVs under constraint of distances coordination

Coordinated target tracking for a team of two heterogeneous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is discussed. In order to study the coordinated relationship by means of distances of UAV-to-target and UAV-to-UAV, a constraint of distances coordination is proposed. Differing from the traditional studies that focus on angular separation or communication connectivity for UAVs, this constraint takes the effect of geometric configuration for two UAVs coordination into account. Specifically, the constraint only applies to follower UAV, aiming to obtain its optimal coordinated distance to target. In this way, accuracy of target state estimation and optimal geometric configuration of target tracking for UAVs are guaranteed. Extended Information filter is used to estimate the target location on a 2-D plane, and a receding horizon approach is applied to generate the optimal control policy for two UAVs' coordination. Simulation results illustrated the effectiveness.