Changing the Formations of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

The development of hierarchical structures of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) increases the efficiency of unmanned aerial systems. The grouping of UAVs increases the region of recognition or force of assault. Achieving these requirements is possible through a UAV formation. The UAVs in the formation must be controlled and managed by a commander, but the commander cannot control individual UAVs. The UAVs within the formation have assigned specific individual tasks, so is possible to achieve the flight of the formation with minimum collisions between UAVs and maximized equipment utilization. This paper aims to present a method of formation control for multiple UAVs that allows dynamic changes in the constellations of UAVs. The article includes the results of tests and research conducted in real-world conditions involving a formation capable of adapting its configuration. The results are presented as an element of research for the autonomy swarm, which can be controlled by one pilot/operator. The control of a swarm consisting of many UAVs (several hundred) by one person is now a current problem. The article presents a fragment of research work on high-autonomy UAV swarms. Here is presented a field test that focuses on UAV constellation control.

Keywords

• unmanned aerial vehicle
• mobile robotics
• unmanned aerial system
• formation
• quadrotor