Adaptive configuration control of combined UAVs based on leader-wingman mode

Abstract

Modular Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can adapt to rapidly changing payload requirements based on the shape and weight of the load by adding or subtracting units, reconfiguring, or changing the type of units. The existing research has addressed aerial docking and hover control post-docking but fails to achieve coordinated flight following combination, leading to delayed response and oscillations as the number of UAV units increases. Moreover, the configuration of modular UAVs is complex and variable, making it challenging to adjust the controller parameters of each unit online. Therefore, this paper presents: (A) Adaptive attitude allocation method for different combined UAV configurations: establishing a mapping relationship between constant controller parameters of the unit and the combination angular acceleration. The desired torque of the combination is allocated based on the size of the lever arm, enabling adaptive attitude control of the combination for varying configurations by controlling the attitude of the local unit; (B) A power allocation strategy based on a leader-wingman mode: employing a leader to control the entire combination, distributing the combination’s force and torque to wingman units according to the mapping relationship of the attitude allocation method. This transforms the complex control of the combination into unit control in the leader-wingman mode. Compared to current average allocation methods, the step response of attitude angle improves by about 60% on average, and spatial trajectory tracking increases by an average of 11.5%. As the number of units grows, the response of the combination becomes similar to that of a single, independently flying UAV, resolving the oscillation issue in combined flight. Additionally, this approach eliminates the need to change the controller parameters of all units, facilitating convenient reconfiguration and coordinated flight for modular UAVs post-combination.