Formation Flight Control and Cooperative Obstacle Avoidance of Multiple UAVs

Abstract

This paper primarily focuses on the obstacle avoidance issue of followers in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) formation flight while considering formation constraints. Based on consensus theory and the artificial potential field (APF) principle, a new fusion UAV formation control algorithm is proposed. The method employs a formation control strategy that combines the leader-following method and the virtual structure method, enabling the generation, maintenance and transformation of the formation through the utilization of a consensus controller. In response to the specific problem of the follower within the formation entering the no-fly zone and the self-collision among UAVs, APF-based formation path replanning and self-collision prevention algorithms are introduced. The simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.