ABSTRACT
The cooperative control of small unmanned aerial vehicles such as the multicopters has been extensively investigated worldwide for functionality augmentation and cost reduction with respect to a single larger vehicle. The present paper proposes a software-in-the-loop simulation scheme for performance evaluation and demonstration of formation flight control systems of multicopters. The simulation scheme consists of a computer network where each computer simulates one of the vehicles using the MATLAB/Simulink for implementing the local control system and the X-Plane for simulating the flight dynamics and environment. For cooperation, the local control systems exchange position data by means of the network. In order to illustrate the proposed scheme, a group of 3 octocopters is taken into consideration and a leader-follower strategy is chosen for triangular position formation, with the leader moving in a straight line with constant speed.
Keywords
Software-in-the-loop simulation; Formation control; Multicopter; Micro aerial vehicle
