An event-triggering-based approach for three-dimensional local-level frame formation control of leader-follower UAVs

The development of a three-dimensional (3D) formation controller for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) associated with an event-triggered transmission protocol is presented in this paper. The formation controller is derived based on a 3D relative kinematic model established upon a local-level coordinate frame, which does not require any absolute global information. The proposed controller is developed using the Lyapunov theory and proved to be capable of driving the follower UAV to exponentially converge to a desired formation. An event-triggered transmission protocol is developed based on the derived 3D formation controller in order to efficiently schedule the transmission of the leader's state to the follower according to the dynamic change of the leader's state. The performance of the formation control law integrated with the event-triggered protocol is verified in simulation.