Formation Flying using GENEX and Differential geometric guidance law

Abstract

A new formation flying scheme using Generalized Vector Explicit Guidance (GENEX) and Dynamic inversion (DI) based guidance law for autonomous formation flying of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been proposed in this paper. In this new scheme, the entire formation is divided into two portions. In the first portion, followers are guided to meet the leader at a desired position in space with the velocity vector of the followers aligned with that of the leader. In second portion, the followers keep the formation intact after they met the leader. Closed form solution, computational efficiency, simplicity in implementation and accuracy are some of the key features that are needed for such a mission. In this regard, GENEX and dynamic inversion based nonlinear guidance scheme are found to be relevant as reported in the literature. The guidance commands (namely the required thrust, angle of attack and bank angle) are generated using the dynamic model of a vehicle, making it practically more relevant. Extensive simulation studies indicate that the proposed technique is capable of bringing the UAVs into desired formation and then maintaining the formation. Simulation results show different leader maneuvers that are followed by the leader to maintain a close formation throughout the trajectory.