Collision and terrain avoidance for UAVs using the potential field method

In this paper we study the problem of collision and terrain avoidance for multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) tracking a low altitude trajectory. By applying the artificial potential field method, the UAVs are able to avoid colliding with the terrain, as well as avoiding collisions with each other. The UAVs are modeled using a kinematic model with nonholonomic contraints, which through dynamic feedback linearization is controllable by using the artificial potential field method.