Distributed Finite-Time Cooperative Control for Quadrotor Formation

This paper investigates a finite-time formation control problem for multiple networked quadrotors. A novel distributed control approach is presented under the leader-follower formation framework, and the approach is developed based on the finite-time Lyapunov theory and the homogeneous system theory such that all quadrotors form and maintain a desired geometric pattern within finite time while tracking a reference trajectory. The designed control law is composed of a dynamic observer, a position controller and an attitude controller, in which the observer is adopted to provide estimates of the leader quadrotor information for each follower quadrotor, and the controllers are in a cascade structure. It is shown that the finite-time leader-follower formation of a group of quadrotors can be achieved via the distributed control approach, and the cascade control architecture conforms to quadrotor dynamic characteristics. The constructive procedures on how to synthesize such a control law are also given. The effectiveness of the proposed control approach is verified by the simulation.