Consensus-Based Cooperative Circular Formation Control Strategy for Multi-UAV System

The article suggests a new strategy for controlling a group of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the fixed-wing type for circular formations. It is based on consensus and non-uniform vector field path-following algorithms. Unlike most of the previous papers in this field of research, we consider a decentralized nonlinear control of a group that includes an unlimited number of agents with more realistic non-holonomic dynamics. We also account for the restrictions on input control signals (input saturations). In addition, the multi-UAV system is considered as a non-autonomous dynamical system, and by means of the Lyapunov's direct method and Gronwall-Bellman Lemma, the global asymptotic stability of equilibrium is shown. That guarantees strict arrangement of a formation during a flight of a UAV group. One of the main differences from the previous research is also that it is not required to place the vehicles on the circle at the beginning of the algorithm of a circular formation. That significantly enhances the realistic effect and increases practical applicability when the suggested approach is used. The overall control system performance was tested in MATLAB/Simulink using full dynamic of the low-level autopilot/UAV nonlinear models.