Fixed-Time Collision-Free Fault-Tolerant Formation Control of Multi-UAVs Under Actuator Faults

When cooperating through an intensive formation, the safe distancing of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is a delicate issue, especially if UAVs are subjected to actuator faults that cause rapid maneuvers. This article investigates the fixed-time fault-tolerant formation control of multiple quadrotor UAVs under actuator faults, which considers the collision avoidance among UAVs when faults occur, and the convenience of engineering application. First, an augmented fixed-time observer with measurement noise oppression is adopted to estimate and compensate actuator faults and disturbance in rotational and translational dynamics. Then, a baseline attitude controller, a command filter, and a velocity controller are proposed for each quadrotor UAV to track the desired velocity within a fixed time. Next, a distributed fixed-time sliding-mode controller that integrates the gradient of repulsive potential function into the sliding manifold is designed to achieve leader–follower formation control and collision avoidance simultaneously. The control scheme is proven to be fixed-time convergent via Lyapunov stability analysis and is normalized in accordance with the compatibility of hardware implementation. Finally, the designed algorithm is embedded into PX4 architecture to illustrate the effectiveness and practicality of the control strategy.