Semi-global leader-following consensus-based formation flight of unmanned aerial vehicles

In this paper, we investigate a formation control problem of multi-agent systems(specifically a group of unmanned aerial vehicles) based on a semi-global leader-following consensus approach with both the leader and the followers subject to input saturation. Utilizing the low gain feedback design technique, a distributed static control protocol and a distributed adaptive control protocol are constructed. The former solves the problem under an assumption that the communication network is undirecte...     

无人机集群研究进展综述

集群行为是一种常见于自然界中鱼群、鸟群、蜂群等低等群居生物的集体行为,生物群中的个体仅依靠局部感知作用和简单的通信规则自主决定其运动状态,并且从简单的局部规则涌现出协同的整体行为。受此启发,提出了无人机集群作战的概念。无人机集群作战是指依靠大量低成本、速度快、适应能力强、易于携带和投射的无人机形成规模优势,从而取得战争的主动权。由于无人机集群技术的重要战略地位,中美俄等军事大国均开始重视无人机集群技术的持续发展。介绍了无人机集群的研究动机,从模型、协议和平台3个角度总结了研究方法,重点分析了几种典型作战模式以及涉及的若干关键技术。综上所述,集群技术在军事方面具有重要的应用价值,必将引领全新的作战模式。     

Robust leaderless time-varying formation control for unmanned aerial vehicle swarm system with Lipschitz nonlinear dynamics and directed switching topologies

This paper tackles the robust leaderless Time-Varying Formation(TVF) control problem for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) swarm system with Lipschitz nonlinear dynamics, external disturbances and directed switching topologies. In comparison with the previous achievements on formation control problems, the UAV swarm system with Lipschitz nonlinear dynamics can accomplish the pre-designed TVF while tracking a pre-given trajectory which is produced by a virtual leader UAV in the presence of externa...     

Mobility control of unmanned aerial vehicle as communication relay in airborne multi-user systems

In this paper, a model-based adaptive mobility control method for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) acting as a communication relay is presented, which is intended to improve the network performance in airborne multi-user systems. The mobility control problem is addressed by jointly considering unknown Radio Frequency(RF) channel parameters, unknown multi-user mobility, and non-available Angle of Arrival(AoA) information of the received signal. A Kalman filter and a least-square-based estimation algorithm are used to predict the future user positions and estimate the RF channel parameters between the users and the UAV, respectively. Two different relay application cases are considered: end-to-end and multi-user communications. A line search algorithm is proposed for the former, with its stability given and proven, whereas a simplified gradient-based algorithm is proposed for the latter to provide a target relay position at each decision time step, decreasing the two-dimensional search to a one-dimensional search. Simulation results show that the proposed mobility control algorithms can drive the UAV to reach or track the optimal relay position movement, as well as improving network performance. The proposed method reflects the properties of using different metrics as objective network performance functions.     

水面无人艇集群编队控制技术综述

随着海上作业任务的日渐复杂以及水面无人艇控制理论的发展，单水面无人艇航行控制能力的局限性逐渐显现，集群编队控制技术得到了广泛关注。针对水面无人艇集群编队控制技术，分析了当前国内外应用情况与技术研究现状，重点从典型编队队形适用性、编队控制系统结构形式、编队协同控制方法、编队控制通信技术及异构条件下协同控制技术等方面分析了水面无人艇集群编队控制技术的研究进展。最后，进行了总结和展望，以期为水面无人艇集群编队控制技术的研究提供有益的参考。     

Timeliness optimization of unmanned aerial vehicle lossy communications for internet-of-things

Information freshness is a key factor for Internet-of-Things(Io T) to make appropriate decisions and operations. This paper proposes an analytical framework for evaluating the timeliness performance of the Io T system based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) lossy communications.The performance analysis consists of the outage probability analysis and the Age-of-Information(Ao I) analysis with outages. To begin with, we solve a lossy coding problem formulated from the UAV communication system, and d...     

Control techniques of tilt rotor unmanned aerial vehicle systems:A review

The tilt rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (TRUAV) exhibits special application value due to its unique rotor structure. However, varying dynamics and aerodynamic interference caused by tiltable rotors are great technical challenges and key issues for TRUAV's high-powered flight con-trols, which have attracted the attention of many researchers. This paper outlines the concept of TRUAV and some typical TRUAV platforms while focusing on control techniques. TRUAV struc-tural features, dynamics modeling, and flight control methods are discussed, and major challenges and corresponding developmental tendencies associated with TRUAV flight control are summa-rized.     

基于改进一致性算法的无人机编队控制

编队飞行是指多架无人机保持以一定队形进行飞行的状态,相比于单架飞机执行任务,无人机编队能够增加搜索面积,提高飞机飞行性能,增大完成任务成功率。编队控制是实现编队安全高效完成指定任务的前提。本文以一致性理论为基础,针对无人机运动模型的特点与实际飞行要求,对基本的一致性算法进行改进,提出了改进一致性无人机编队控制算法。首先利用纵向和横侧向解耦的自动驾驶仪模型给出了无人机的三自由度运动方程,根据机动性与飞行性能要求定义了各方向上的加速度、速度与角速度约束。基于一致性理论,将编队控制分为平面与纵向2个方向进行,在状态控制的基础上,利用各状态变量间的几何关系对无人机运动自由度进行转换,加入编队队形信息,设计了编队控制算法。为了使算法生成的指令信号满足约束条件,提出了"最小调整"约束条件处理策略。依据粒子群算法对各无人机的爬升加速度进行优化,以避免机间碰撞。仿真结果表明：提出的编队控制算法具备编队成形与变换功能,能够使无人机编队状态快速收敛到指定值,且保持指定队形,无人机飞行状态满足所有约束条件。     

Resilience optimization for multi-UAV formation reconfiguration via enhanced pigeon-inspired optimization

This paper develops a novel optimization method oriented to the resilience of multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(multi-UAV) formations to achieve rapid and accurate reconfiguration under random attacks. First, a resilience metric is applied to reflect the effect and rapidity of multi-UAV formation resisting random attacks. Second, an optimization model based on a parameter optimization problem to maximize the system resilience is established. Third, an Adaptive Learning-based Pigeon-Inspired Optim...     

Adaptive formation control of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles with bounded control thrust

In this paper, the flight formation control problem of a group of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with parametric uncertainties and external disturbances is studied. Unit-quaternions are used to represent the attitudes of the quadrotor UAVs. Separating the model into a translational subsystem and a rotational subsystem, an intermediary control input is introduced to track a desired velocity and extract desired orientations. Then considering the internal parametric uncertainties and external disturbances of the quadrotor UAVs, the priori-bounded intermediary adaptive control input is designed for velocity tracking and formation keeping, by which the bounded control thrust and the desired orientation can be extracted. Thereafter, an adaptive con-trol torque input is designed for the rotational subsystem to track the desired orientation. With the proposed control scheme, the desired velocity is tracked and a desired formation shape is built up. Global stability of the closed-loop system is proven via Lyapunov-based stability analysis. Numer-ical simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

General optimal design of solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle for priority considering propulsion system

This paper describes the general optimization design method of Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle which priority considering propulsion system planning. Based on the traditional solar powered aircraft design method, the propulsion system top-level target parameters which affect the path planning are integrated into the general optimization design. According to the typical mission requirements of Solar-Powered Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, considering the design variables such as wing area, aspect ...     

操纵面作动对无尾布局无人机纵向气动特性的影响

通过风洞测力实验,研究了不同操纵面作动对某无尾布局无人机纵向气动特性的影响。实验结果表明：升降副翼以及襟副翼正向偏转都会使全机升力系数、阻力系数以及低头力矩增加。升降副翼作动引起的增量要高于襟副翼,并且舵偏角度越大增量越大。全动翼尖作动对全机纵向气动特性基本没有影响。在线性段,鸭翼作动对升力系数和阻力系数影响不大;线性段之外,鸭翼作动使得升力系数和阻力系数减小。迎角α〈16°以及α〉38°时,鸭翼正向作动使得低头力矩减小,负向作动使得低头力矩增加。操纵面作动对低头力矩的控制效率由高到低依次为：升降副翼、襟副翼、鸭翼和全动翼尖。进一步分析表明不同操纵面的控制效率与舵容量系数具有较大关系。     

Trajectory tracking control of a VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle using offset-free tracking MPC

Designing a stable and robust flight control system for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) is an arduous task. This paper addresses the trajectory tracking control problem of a Ducted Fan UAV(DFUAV) using offset-free Model Predictive Control(MPC) technique in the presence of various uncertainties and external disturbances. The designed strategy aims to ensure adequate flight robustness and stability while overcoming the effects of time delays, parametric uncertainties,and disturbances. The six degr...     

无人机桨叶损伤的在线模型估计新方法

无人机在复杂高对抗环境中极易出现桨叶结构受损故障,造成无人机控制性能退化甚至失稳,给无人机带来灾难性后果。桨叶结构损伤条件下无人机动力学模型的在线估计与重建是保障无人机控制系统稳定的重要前提。由于桨叶损伤干扰隐含于无人机动力学模型的内部,可观测性较低,典型的干扰观测器难以实现对此类干扰的估计。提出了一种新型穿透型干扰观测器,通过构造穿透函数,将模型内部的干扰映射到一个新建的平行空间,实现了对桨叶损伤的估计和故障后无人机的建模,并给出了所设计穿透型干扰观测器的稳定性条件。以四旋翼无人机为应用对象,对桨叶损伤形成的干扰进行在线估计与量化,反演出桨叶随机出现的损伤,实现了桨叶损伤后无人机动力学模型的在线精细重建,解决了无人机桨叶损伤故障下力矩输入难以直接测量的问题。半物理仿真实验验证了所提方法的有效性。     

Distributed formation control of multiple aerial vehicles based on guidance route

Formation control of fixed-wing aerial vehicles is an important yet rarely addressed problem because of their complex dynamics and various motion constraints, such as nonholonomic and velocity constraints. The guidance-route-based strategy has been demonstrated to be applicable to fixed-wing aircraft. However, it requires a global coordinator and there exists control lag, due to its own natures. For this reason, this paper presents a fully distributed guidance-route-based formation approach to address the aforementioned issues. First, a hop-count scheme is introduced to achieve distributed implementation, in which each aircraft chooses a neighbor with the minimum hop-count as a reference to generate its guidance route using only local information. Next, the model predictive control algorithm is employed to eliminate the control lag and achieve precise formation shape control. In addition, the stall protection and collision avoidance are also considered. Finally, three numerical simulations demonstrate that our proposed approach can implement precise formation shape control of fixed-wing aircraft in a fully distributed manner.     

电动无人机动力系统优化设计及航时评估

为提高电动无人机续航性能,针对动力系统进行了优化设计,并提出了相应的航时评估方法.首先采用涡流理论优化设计了小型螺旋桨,再通过实验测试优化选取了与螺旋桨高效率匹配的电动机.同时,考虑到锂离子电池放电倍率及电压降低对放电时间的影响,建立了恒功率条件下电池放电时间计算模型.最后,根据优化得到的动力系统和电池计算模型,推导出有弯度机翼的电动无人机航时公式.某电动飞翼布局无人机飞行试验结果显示,优化得到的动力系统具有较高的效率,测试得到的无人机续航时间与评估得到的理论值误差为12%,在允许误差范围内吻合较好.      

Computational engineering analysis of external geometrical modifications on MQ-1 unmanned combat aerial vehicle

This paper focuses on the effects of external geometrical modifications on the aerodynamic characteristics of the MQ-1 predator Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle(UCAV) using computational fluid dynamics. The investigations are performed for 16 flight conditions at an altitude of7.6 km and at a constant speed of 56.32 m/s. Two models are analysed, namely the baseline model and the model with external geometrical modifications installed on it. Both the models are investigated for various angles of at...     

Longitudinal parameter identification of a small unmanned aerial vehicle based on modified particle swarm optimization

This paper describes a longitudinal parameter identification procedure for a small unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)through modified particle swam optimization(PSO).The procedure is demonstrated using a small UAV equipped with only an micro-electro-mechanical systems(MEMS)inertial measuring element and a global positioning system(GPS)receiver to provide test information.A small UAV longitudinal parameter mathematical model is derived and the modified method is proposed based on PSO with selective particle regeneration(SRPSO).Once modified PSO is applied to the mathematical model,the simulation results show that the mathematical model is correct,and aerodynamic parameters and coefficients of the propeller can be identified accurately.Results are compared with those of PSO and SRPSO and the comparison shows that the proposed method is more robust and faster than the other methods for the longitudinal parameter identification of the small UAV.Some parameter identification results are affected slightly by noise,but the identification results are very good overall.Eventually,experimental validation is employed to test the proposed method,which demonstrates the usefulness of this method.     

Transition control of a tail-sitter unmanned aerial vehicle with L1 neural network adaptive control

The main task of this work is to design a control system for a small tail-sitter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV) during the transition process. Although reasonable control performance can be obtained through a well-tuned single PID or cascade PID control architecture under nominal conditions, large or fast time-varying disturbances and a wide range of changes in the equilibrium point bring nonlinear characteristics to the transition control during the transition process, which leads to control prec...     

复杂环境下多无人机轨迹姿态协同控制

考虑多无人机在实际飞行过程中的避障需求,在建立面向控制的四旋翼无人机轨迹姿态模型基础上,为克服传统多无人机为每架无人机规划轨迹的不足,研究了基于多无人机中心点的轨迹设计策略。进一步,考虑避障约束,基于半定规划进行迭代区域扩张完成了多无人机的安全飞行区域及队形设计。在此基础上,基于干扰补偿策略为每架无人机设计了协同控制器,最终确保了多无人机在多障碍环境下的安全飞行。