Distributed Robust Adaptive Control for Finite-Time Flight Formation of Multi-Quadcopter Systems With Large Lumped Uncertainties

This article presents a new robust formation control approach for a system of multiple Quadcopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (QUAV) in complex and challenging flight scenarios with large lumped uncertainties. The aim is to achieve fast convergence to the desired formation pattern, high tracking accuracy, and solid robustness. To this end, a novel finite-time nonlinear control strategy, Adaptive Backstepping Recursive Integral Non-singular Fast Terminal Sliding Mode Control (ABRINFTSMC), is designed. The formation control system of each QUAV, based on ABRINFTSMC, is divided into an underactuated position subsystem for the outer loop and a fully actuated attitude subsystem for the inner loop. A Robust Finite-Time Distributed Consensus Formation Control Protocol (RFDCFCP) is developed for the outer loop to ensure the convergence of the aircraft to the desired formation pattern in a finite time and maintain its alignment throughout the flight mission. For the inner loop, a Robust Finite-Time Attitude Stabilization Control (RFASC) is developed to allow the aircraft to track the desired attitude generated by the outer loop in a finite time. The stability of the closed-loop system is rigorously analyzed using Lyapunov theory to ensure convergence of all formation tracking errors to the origin in finite time. Finally, numerical simulations are performed under different scenarios to validate the performance of the proposed method, and a comprehensive comparative study with recent formation control approaches is carried out. The results confirm that the proposed formation control exhibits superior performance regarding fast convergence, tracking accuracy, and robustness, crucial features for multi-QUAV system flight formation.