Unifying geometric approach to real-time formation control

We consider a class of problems in formation control. This class comprises of the so called radar deception, rigid formation keeping and formation reconfiguration problems. An intrinsic geometric formulation of the associated constraints unifies the three problems. It is the first time such a generalization has been presented. The constraints can include nonholonomic constraints and actuator limitations. Deriving the constrained dynamics describing the motion eliminates the need for nonlinear programming making the approach amenable to real time motion planning. The constrained dynamics along with the motion planning algorithm that generates reference trajectories online and in real-time, are validated for the formation keeping problem using simulations.