Quadrotors flight formation control using a leader-follower approach

In this paper it is presented a control strategy to solve the trajectory tracking and flight formation problem, in horizontal plane, of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) kind quadrotor, by means of a leader-follower scheme. Time scale separation of the translational and rotational quadrotor dynamics is used to achieve trajectory tracking. A sliding mode controller is proposed for the translational dynamic and provides the desired orientation for the UAV, which is controlled by a linear PD control. Finally, from the formation error dynamics, a sliding mode control is used by the follower to preserve the formation with respect to a leader. Experimental results, using a virtual leader and a follower in formation, are shown to evaluate the proposed control law.