Distributed multi-UAV trajectory optimization over directed networks

This paper is concerned with a trajectory optimization problem for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (multi-UAV) systems, where the optimization model is constructed based on quadrotor UAV dynamics. The problem is decomposed into a two-layer structure consists of a master problem and n subproblems, with n the amount of UAVs in the system. We propose a model-based distributed algorithm to minimize the energy consumption of the multi-UAV system, in which each UAV obtains its own trajectory by solving the corresponding subproblem, and the UAVs coordinate their trajectories according to master problem. It is shown that the proposed algorithm achieves exact convergence over directed networks, and an upper bound on the residual of cost function is provided. A numerical simulation is presented to demonstrate the validity of our algorithm.