Abstract
The formation control problem for multi-agent systems has been explored in recent years. However, controlling a formation of multiple aerial vehicles in the presence of disturbances has been a challenge for control researchers. To deal with this issue, a robust adaptive formation control algorithm for a group of multiple quadcopters is proposed. A nonlinear model of the dynamics of the formation error is obtained based on a leader–follower scheme. This model considers both the relative position in the x– y plane and the relative heading angle between vehicles in the presence of uncertainties. In addition, by means of a model reference control approach, a robust adaptive formation controller is used to steer the vehicles into a formation pattern and have them maintain the formation shape. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm.
Highlights
The problem of formation control of quadcopters has attracted a great deal of attention in the aerial vehicle control field.[1,2,3,4,5,6]
Several papers relating to the quadcopter formation control problem have been published
We propose a robust adaptive formation control (RAFC) for quadcopters based on a leader–follower scheme
Summary
The problem of formation control of quadcopters has attracted a great deal of attention in the aerial vehicle control field.[1,2,3,4,5,6] Quadcopters have many advantages such as high manoeuvrability and reliability, economic cost, and small size. The copters can be used for several complex tasks that include search and rescue operations, risk and/or hidden zone inspection,[2,3,4] aerial mapping, and military applications.[5,6,7] Compared with a single quadcopter, a formation of quadcopters increases space for equipping sensors, provides higher payload capacity and larger surveillance coverage, and, as a result, can achieve more difficult tasks in a more efficient manner.[8,9,10,11] controlling a formation of multiple quadcopters is posing several difficulties for researchers because of either lacking of explicit mathematic formation dynamics models or the influences of external perturbations. Overcoming these shortcomings is becoming an imperative topic as it promises a broad range of quadcopter application to be developed afterward
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