A UGV-UAV Formation Using Leader-Follower-Based Collaborative Navigation
Terrance Williams, Hakkı Erhan Sevil · 2024
In this study, a proof-of-concept leader-follower relationship between an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) as a method of navigation is developed and tested. A JetHexa hexapod robot was tasked with following a CoDrone EDU quadrotor with no communication between the two platforms. To implement the UAV-following behavior, a You Only Look Once version 5 (YOLOv5) object detection model was developed and employed as part of a Robotic Operating System (ROS) package. According to the results, in controlled testing environments, the UGV is able to follow the UAV over multiple waypoints, following at distances as close as ten centimeters. With future optimization improvements, this leader-follower dynamic may provide a simple means for offloading environmental traversability analysis and path planning to platforms with more advantageous vantage points.