FORMATION FLIGHT OF DRONES IN REAL TIME

Project Title

FORMATION FLIGHT OF DRONES IN REAL TIME

Project Area of Specialization Electrical/Electronic EngineeringProject Summary

With the increasing demand for robotic aid, the domain of operation of UAVs has increased greatly. A great degree of attention in research is being given to UAVs, both fixed and rotary wing. Owing to their performance characteristics and high maneuverability, the utility of these UAVs range from search and rescue operations, surveillance, gathering information, photography, digital terrain mapping, commercial deliveries, and limited scale offensive actions. Recent research of UAVs on mimicking nature is revealing the benefits of flying in flocks, like the flying pattern of the birds, which is coming under the spotlight. For instance, in a limited scale offensive action, one micro UAV would not be able to handle as much payload as five combined. In case of a medical emergency in remote areas, the UAVs might be utilized to carry medical equipment catering to limited road access and traffic jams, providing efficient and timely aid to the affectees. To exploit the above-mentioned benefits, a formation flight of UAVs flying in perfect coordination is needed. Furthermore, indigenous development of this formation flight would allow the users to modify and customize it according to their own needs easily. This coordination is achievable through several methods. However, the focus of this project is to demonstrate a leader-follower formation flight in quadcopters.

Project Objectives

1) Literature review would be conducted for the development of coordinated flying in Quadcopters

2) Development of Algorithm and Communication mechanism to ensure well coordinated flight.

3) Ensure two operational drones demonstrate Formation Flying.

Project Implementation Method

The proposed methodology for this project is that the leader will receive its commands from the pilot on ground. A flying vehicle has 12 measurable states. They are:

(a) Position Coordinates (x,y,z)

(b) Linear Velocities (u,v,w)

(c) Euler Angles

(d) Angular Rates (p,q,r)

They are measured along three axes. These states of the leader will be measured using on-board sensors (IMU, GPS). The measured values would be communicated to the follower using a communication link. The follower would use these measured values as reference and its controller would ensure that the follower approaches the same states as measured and communicated by the leader. In this way, the follower becomes able to align itself with the leader quadcopter. We need to make sure that no redundant information is shared between the two quadcopters because it would burden the datalink and cause data loss or unwanted delays

Benefits of the Project

The scope and utilization of this project can be best judged by its applications. With the advancement in technology and automation, the areas of application for drones has been increased widely. There is a continuous need for research and development. Improvements are already being made in drones to make them more sophisticated and to enhance their capabilities and utilities. Some of the important areas of application, as mentioned above, are:

Surveillance: To cover a larger area one quadcopter might not be enough so coordinated efforts of two or more quadcopters can be used to cover the area more efficiently

Disaster Management: Natural disasters are inevitable events i.e. earthquakes, floods, forest fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes, etc. Such disasters make the affected areas difficult to access and unsafe to approach in person. In such scenarios, the coordinated formation of UAVs can be utilized to keep the area under observation and to provide basic countermeasures. For instance, to provide first aid and basic life support needs to the affectees or in case of fore emergency can be utilized to extinguish the fire without endangering human lives

Load transportation: Drones can utilize to carry weight from one location to another. Some payloads can’t be carried by a single UAV so a coordinated effort of multiple UAVs may be required. The use of multiple UAVs divides the weight among multiple quadcopters and hence makes it easier to lift.

Terrain Mapping: Lidar-equipped quadcopters can be used to collect data from a large area. This can be utilized to make the Digital Elevation Model (DEM), Digital Surface Model (DSM), or Digital Terrain Map (DTM) of the area under consideration. These quadcopters can be equipped with payloads like Lidar and special cameras that can gather information about the terrain underneath while the UAV is flying. Such data is useful in agriculture, environmental studies, and construction works, etc.

Photography and Videography: Small and light quadcopters have recreational utilities. With the increasing trend of social networking websites and vlogging, the trend of using quadcopters is becoming very popular. Today, a wide variety of quadcopters are available with advanced state-of-the-art cameras and gimbals to provide stabilization, are available in the market used widely by professional photographers and vloggers

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Basic Deliverable:-

Implementation of a leader-follower formation flight of two quadcopters in realtime.

Additional Deliverables:-

Additional tasks will include the following:

1. Implementation of a leader-follower formation flight of two quadcopters in indoor environment. (subject to availability of time)

2. Cooperative Transportation of load using collective effort of multiple quadcopters

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry OthersOther Industries IT Core Technology RoboticsOther Technologies Artificial Intelligence(AI)Sustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities and CommunitiesRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	70000
Quadcopter Kits	Equipment	2	15000	30000
Flight Controllers	Equipment	2	11000	22000
Landing Gear set	Equipment	2	1500	3000
Batteries	Equipment	2	7500	15000