Distributed Formation Planning for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Zeming Zhao, Xiaozhen Zhang, Hao Fang, Qingkai Yang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Formation flying of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has attracted much attention for its versatility in cooperative tasks. In this paper, a distributed formation planning method is proposed for UAVs. First, we design a path searching algorithm, swarm-A*, which can enhance the cohesion of a swarm, i.e., preventing the disintegration of the swarm when it encounters an obstacle. Then, after waypoint reallocation, a formation trajectory optimization framework is formulated. Smooth formation trajectories for UAVs to travel safely in obstacle-laden environments can be obtained by solving the optimization problem. Next, a tracking controller based on sliding mode control is designed, ensuring that the UAVs follow the planned formation trajectories under dynamic constraints. Finally, numerical simulations and experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Original languageEnglish
Article number306
JournalDrones
Volume9
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2025

Keywords

  • path searching
  • trajectory optimization
  • UAV formation

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