Multi-UAV Path Following using Vector-Field Guidance

TL;DR

This paper introduces a decentralized vector-field guidance framework for multiple UAVs that ensures collision avoidance and uniform spacing along a reference path, with proven guarantees and simulation validation.

Contribution

It proposes a novel collision-free, decentralized guidance law combining vector fields and inter-UAV spacing control, with analytical guarantees for convergence and safety.

Findings

The method guarantees collision avoidance during path convergence.

UAVs maintain uniform spacing along the reference path.

Simulations validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework.

Abstract

This paper presents a decentralized, collision-free framework for path following guidance of multiple uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), while maintaining uniform spacing along a reference path. A vector field-based guidance law is employed to drive each UAV toward the reference path. A rotational repulsion mechanism, utilizing relative distance and bearing between UAVs, is proposed to avoid collisions during convergence to the path, and an inter-UAV spacing error-based velocity control law is presented to achieve uniform separation along the path. Analytical guarantees are established for collision avoidance and convergence of the inter-UAV spacing errors to zero, ensuring uniform separation along the path. Numerical simulations demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.