Hybrid Consensus-Based Formation Control of Fixed-Wing MUAVs

Hybrid consensus-based formation control is designed in this paper for a team of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs moving at fixed altitudes are controlled through a novel hybrid controller to drive them to a goal location while maintaining a predefined formation. The hybrid automaton has two discrete modes, each with continuous dynamics: a regulation mode and a formation keeping mode. The controller in the regulation mode uses local UAV state information to achieve its desired location, while the formation controller utilizes the neighbor UAVs’ state and controller information. The theoretical conjecture is verified by simulation results.