Abstract
The following paper presents a method for the use of a virtual electric dipole potential field to control a leader-follower formation of autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The proposed control algorithm uses a virtual electric dipole potential field to determine the desired heading for a UAV follower. This method’s greatest advantage is the ability to rapidly change the potential field function depending on the position of the independent leader. Another advantage is that it ensures formation flight safety regardless of the positions of the initial leader or follower. Moreover, it is also possible to generate additional potential fields which guarantee obstacle and vehicle collision avoidance. The considered control system can easily be adapted to vehicles with different dynamics without the need to retune heading control channel gains and parameters. The paper closely describes and presents in detail the synthesis of the control algorithm based on vector fields obtained using scalar virtual electric dipole potential fields. The proposed control system was tested and its operation was verified through simulations. Generated potential fields as well as leader-follower flight parameters have been presented and thoroughly discussed within the paper. The obtained research results validate the effectiveness of this formation flight control method as well as prove that the described algorithm improves flight formation organization and helps ensure collision-free conditions.
Highlights
Over the past decade, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have advanced greatly, mostly due to the dynamic progress in robotics, control engineering, telecommunication, and material sciences [1,2,3]
The R&D community dealing with UAS has been facing several new issues, such as those connected with increasing autonomy levels [4,5,6,7], communication and data exchange systems [8,9,10], precise localization systems [11,12], propulsion and power systems [13,14], launchers and take off system [15,16,17], mannedunmanned teaming [18], interoperability [19,20,21], advanced control laws synthesis [22,23,24]
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that fly in formation and have the ability to work together can hold a prominent role in applications like military operations, map building, transport of heavy or bulky loads, search and rescue missions, aerial refueling, drag reduction, and energy savings or long-distance data retransmission
Summary
Over the past decade, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have advanced greatly, mostly due to the dynamic progress in robotics, control engineering, telecommunication, and material sciences [1,2,3]. The [60], on the other hand, presents a virtual leader approach combined with an extended local potential field This method was applied only with respect to small unmanned helicopters and is only suitable for holonomic mobile objects, greatly limiting its uses.
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