Distributed 3D Leader-Follower Formation Control with Field-of-View Safety via Control Barrier Functions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a distributed 3D leader-follower formation control method for multi-UAV systems that ensures formation tracking while maintaining leader visibility within the follower's camera FOV using control barrier functions.

Contribution

It develops a perception-aware control architecture that guarantees visibility by construction, integrating a safety filter with formation control using Control Barrier Functions.

Findings

Validated through Gazebo simulations and Crazyflie hardware experiments.

Achieved accurate formation tracking with enforced FOV safety constraints.

Demonstrated effectiveness even when formation commands conflict with visibility constraints.

Abstract

This letter proposes a distributed 3D leader-follower formation (3D-LFF) control framework for multi-UAV systems that achieves formation tracking while enforcing perception safety constraints. Maintaining safe, vision-based 3D-LFF is challenging because onboard cameras impose strict Field-of-View (FOV) limitations, and demanding formation commands can drive the leader outside the follower's camera frustum, resulting in loss of visibility. To address this issue, we develop a perception-aware safe control architecture that guarantees visibility by construction. First, we derive a relative kinematic model in a line-of-sight coordinate representation and design a distributed 3D-LFF tracking controller using only locally available relative states. Next, we embed the nominal formation controller within a Control Barrier Function-based Quadratic Program (CBF-QP) safety filter that minimally modifies the commanded velocities to maintain the leader inside the follower's camera frustum while preserving formation tracking whenever feasible. Gazebo simulations and Crazyflie hardware experiments validate the proposed approach, demonstrating accurate formation tracking and effective FOV enforcement, including scenarios in which the nominal desired formation conflicts with visibility constraints.