A Decentralized Formation and Network Connectivity Tracking Controller for Multiple Unmanned Systems
Rajdeep Kumar Dutta, Liang Quan Sun, Daniel J. Pack · IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology · 2017
In this brief, we present a novel decentralized controller for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to fly in a symmetric formation surrounding a hostile mobile target while maintaining and controlling the network connectivity. The multi-UAV information exchange topology is considered as a time-varying function of interagent distances. We investigate the impact of controller parameters on UAV group behavior to maintain connectivity. We also explore the use of the proposed controller to track a desired connectivity profile along with steering UAVs in a target-centric formation. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.