Dynamics and Control of Vision-Aided Multi-UAV-tethered Netted System Capturing Non-Cooperative Target

TL;DR

This paper introduces a high-fidelity simulation platform for multi-UAV tethered net systems, integrating dynamics, vision, and reinforcement learning to improve non-cooperative target capture strategies.

Contribution

The development of mySim, a comprehensive multibody dynamics simulation environment with integrated perception and control, enabling advanced testing of UAV capture systems.

Findings

mySim accurately models system dynamics and interactions.

The system successfully captures non-cooperative targets in simulation.

Reinforcement learning enhances autonomous control strategies.

Abstract

As the number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) operating in low-altitude airspace continues to increase, non-cooperative targets pose growing challenges to low-altitude operations. To address this issue, this paper proposes a multi-UAV-tethered netted system as a non-lethal solution for capturing non-cooperative targets. To validate the proposed system, we develop mySim, a multibody dynamics-based UAV simulation environment that integrates high-precision physics modeling, vision-based motion tracking, and reinforcement learning-driven control strategies. In mySim, the spring-damper model is employed to simulate the dynamic behavior of the tethered net, while the dynamics of the entire system is modeled using multibody dynamics (MBD) to achieve accurate representations of system interactions. The motion of the UAVs and the target are estimated using VINS-MONO and DETR, and the system autonomously executes the capture strategy through MAPPO. Simulation results demonstrate that mySim accurately simulates dynamics and control of the system, successfully enabling the multi-UAV-tethered netted system to capture both non-propelled and maneuvering non-cooperative targets. By providing a high-precision simulation platform that integrates dynamics modeling with perception and learning-based control, mySim enables efficient testing and optimization of UAV-based control policies before real-world deployment. This approach offers significant advantages for simulating complex UAVs coordination tasks and has the potential to be applied to the design of other UAV-based systems.