Autonomous formation flight of UAVs: Control algorithms and field experiments

In this paper, efficient trajectory planning algorithms and centralized control schemes based on onboard sensors and embedded controllers are presented for outdoor autonomous formation flight. Specifically, the optimal reciprocal collision avoidance (ORCA) algorithm is studied to avoid collision among unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during formation switching. Field experiments have been conducted to experimentally study the outdoor formation flight of four UAVs using GPS signals. A ground station is designed to send commands to UAVs and synchronize the communication sequences among the system. With the aid of the experimental platforms, we demonstrate that the presented trajectory planning algorithms and control schemes are suitable for low-accuracy GPS situation.