Robust Distributed Cooperative Path-Following and Local Replanning for Multi-UAVs Under Differentiated Low-Altitude Paths

TL;DR

This paper introduces a robust distributed control strategy for multi-UAVs to follow differentiated low-altitude paths reliably, even under disturbances and obstacles, with real-time replanning capabilities.

Contribution

It presents a novel distributed cooperative control framework with a robust guidance law and efficient local replanning for multi-UAVs in complex environments.

Findings

Effective path following under wind disturbances demonstrated

Real-time obstacle avoidance replanning achieved with minimal delay

Distributed synchronization ensures time-consistent path tracking

Abstract

Multiple fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (multi-UAVs) encounter significant challenges in cooperative path following over complex Digital Elevation Model (DEM) low-altitude airspace, including wind field disturbances, sudden obstacles, and requirements of distributed temporal synchronization during differentiated path tracking. Existing methods lack efficient distributed coordination mechanisms for time-consistent tracking of 3D differentiated paths, fail to quantify robustness against disturbances, and lack effective online obstacle avoidance replanning capabilities. To address these gaps, a cooperative control strategy is proposed: first, the distributed cooperative path-following problem is quantified via time indices, and consistency is ensured through a distributed communication protocol; second, a longitudinal-lateral look-ahead angle adjustment method coupled with a robust guidance law is developed to achieve finite-time stabilization of path following error to zero under wind disturbances; third, an efficient local path replanning method with minimal time cost is designed for real-time online obstacle avoidance.Experimental validations demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the $\ $proposed strategy.