Formation flight of unmanned rotorcraft based on robust and perfect tracking approach

Abstract

The paper presents a control scheme to the formation flight of a pair of unmanned rotorcraft. A leader-follower formation strategy is adopted and it is realized by utilizing the robust and perfect tracking (RPT) control approach. More specifically, individual RPT flight control laws are implemented in each aircraft, while the measurements from its neighbor and its own sensors are both taken into account for feedback to each aircraft system. In addition, a formation command generator is executed on the follower to ensure that it remains in formation with the leader. This control scheme facilitates the construction of formation flight systems and eases the changing of formation scale. Finally, the proposed formation flight strategy is realized and its performance is verified through several flight tests. © 2012 AACC American Automatic Control Council).