Research on Multi-UAV Formation and Semi-Physical Simulation With Virtual Structure

In a highly challenging environment, it is difficult to ensure effective information exchange between UAVs due to disruptions and limitations in communication. Aiming at the problem of multiple UAVs’ control in this environment, this paper proposes a single-route virtual structure formation method with geometric constraint rules. The position of the virtual leader is continuously updated in real-time along a pre-planned route. By utilizing geometric constraint rules and incorporating the position of the virtual leader, the virtual formation can be accurately calculated. In the straight mode, the formation UAVs generate expected reference points based on the virtual formation. They then calculate the respective reference points of the formation UAVs and use the line-of-sight guidance law to obtain the roll angle command for each UAV, thereby maintaining the formation. In the arc mode, the virtual formation is used as the reference point to calculate the position in real-time, in order to maintain the formation. The roll angle command is obtained based on this position. Upon receiving the formation command, the UAVs update their positions in the virtual formation to complete the formation control individually. Importantly, this method does not require real-time data communication between the UAVs. Nonlinear numerical simulation is conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method in achieving precise formation control. Additionally, a semi-physical simulation platform is built to implement the designed algorithm in engineering. The results further confirm that the algorithm can achieve formation control and effectively reduce the requirements of network radios during task execution.