Comparison of control techniques for the formation of group of quad-rotors

The paper proposes a study and comparison of different approaches used for the formation control of group of quad-rotors. A comparison between leader-follower method and potential field method are discussed. Leader follower method of formation control is carried out using quad-rotor's linear model, while the potential field method is carried out using nonlinear model of quad-rotors. In leader follower approach, trajectory of leader is tracked by the followers using PID controllers. In potential field method, a special type of control technique called nested saturation control is used for the formation control of quad-rotors. Collision avoidance between quad-rotors and obstacle avoidance with the particles in the environment are discussed in second method. The simulation results shows the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.