UAV Formation Transformation Based on Two-Stage Path Planning Method

Abstract

With the maturity of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, the application of UAV in various fields is more in-depth. A method to quickly and accurately solve the flight paths of a large number of UAVs from one formation to another is crucial for application scenarios that require UAVs to perform formation transformation tasks. In this paper, the path planning of UAV swarm formation transformation is divided into two stages: rough planning and fine planning. In the rough planning stage, a 0-1 variable planning model is established to match the start and end points of the UAV flight path, and the model is solved using a Strengthen Elitist GA Algorithm to quickly obtain high-quality feasible solutions. In the fine planning stage, four models including behavioral mode, obstacle avoidance criterion, optimal waypoint selection and target exchange are established. On this basis, a heuristic fixed-step space search algorithm is designed and implemented to plan the path finely, and the path planning for the UAV formation transformation in two scenarios is finally completed.