Distributed obstacles avoidance for UAVs formation using consensus-based switching topology

Abstract

Nowadays, most of the recent researches are focusing on the use of multi-UAVs in both civil and military applications. Multiple robots can offer many advantages compared to a single one such as reliability, time decreasing and various simultaneous interventions. However, solving the formation control and obstacles avoidance problems is still a big challenge. This paper proposes a distributed strategy for UAVs formation control and obstacles avoidance using a consensus-based switching topology. This novel approach allows UAVs to keep the desired topology and switch it in the event of avoiding obstacles. A double loop control structure is designed using a backstepping controller for tracking of the reference path, while a Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) is adopted for formation control. Furthermore, collaborative obstacles avoidance is assured by switching the swarm topology. Numerical simulations show the efficiency of the proposed strategy.