Multi-UAV cooperative formation flight control based on APF & SMC

In this paper, a control method is proposed based on artificial potential field method and sliding mode control theory, for the control of multi-UAV collaborative flight formation. Firstly, the formation control model is obtained according to the UAV kinematics model and the leader-follower strategy. Secondly, the real-time planning of the UAV cluster flight path is carried out by artificial potential field method. Then, in order to overcome the interference of internal parameters and reduce the difficulty of tuning, the multi - channel controller is designed for each UAV by sliding mode control theory. And the stability of the controller is proved by Lyapunov function. Finally, the reasonable flight path of UAV cluster and the state trend during formation are obtained under different environments. The UAV cluster formed the expected formation and remained stable to the destination. And the validity of the algorithm is verified.