Mathematical modeling for flocking flight of autonomous multi-UAV system, including environmental factors

Abstract

In this study, we propose a decentralized mathematical model for predictive control of a system of multi-autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones. Being decentralized and autonomous implies that all members make their own decisions and fly depending on the dynamic information received from other unmanned aircraft in the area. We consider a variety of realistic characteristics, including time delay and communication locality. For this flocking flight, we do not possess control for central data processing or control over each UAV, as each UAV runs its collision avoidance algorithm by itself. The main contribution of this work is a mathematical model for stable group flight even in adverse weather conditions (e.g., heavy wind, rain, etc.) by adding Gaussian noise. Two of our proposed variance control algorithms are presented in this work. One is based on a simple biological imitation from statistical physical modeling, which mimics animal group behavior; the other is an algorithm for cooperatively tracking an object, which aligns the velocities of neighboring agents corresponding to each other. We demonstrate the stability of the control algorithm and its applicability in autonomous multi-drone systems using numerical simulations.