Formation Flight of Quadcopters in Real Time

In the recent years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), particularly quadcopters, octo-rotors and hexa-rotors have gained considerable attention in the field of research. This can be attributed to their high maneuverability and performance characteristics. The applications of these UAVs range from sur

Project Title

Formation Flight of Quadcopters in Real Time

Project Area of Specialization

Electrical/Electronic Engineering

Project Summary

In the recent years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), particularly quadcopters, octo-rotors and hexa-rotors have gained considerable attention in the field of research. This can be attributed to their high maneuverability and performance characteristics. The applications of these UAVs range from surveillance, search and rescue, gathering information, photography, videography to digital terrain mapping. In certain applications, a group of UAVs moving in a coordination can perform a task in a much efficient manner than a single UAV. They can divide the tasks among them, which saves time and overcomes the limitations of a single UAV. The scope of this project is to make a leader-follower formation of quadcopters. The idea of formation flight of quadcopters is inspired by nature and can be seen in flocks of birds. Although different architectures are possible for formation flight (for example leader-follower, virtual leader, behavioral approach etc.), we would be focusing towards leader-follower approach because it is easier to understand and implement. Moreover, we can direct the entire group by specifying directions to the leader.
 

Project Objectives

Quadcopters are being used for a number of applications. In the upcoming era, their utility is going to increase much more. Some tasks are not easy to do by a single quadcopter. For instance, terrain mapping of a large area, surveillance, cooperative transportation etc. However, with a group of quadcopters working in coordination, such tasks can be accomplished. The scope of this project is to demonstrate a leader-follower formation ?ight of quadcopters. This concept can be extended to make a quadcopter swarm.
 

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

In the upcoming era, the importance of drone swarms can’t be denied. They can disperse over largeareas to scan and gather valuable information. They can also be used for defensive purpose against threats due to their capabilities like facial detection, CBRN detectors. Air forces around the globe are establishing ‘swarm squadrons’ that can be deployed on and off battlefield. This project is the ?rst step towards the establishment of a drone swarm. It would open doors to further research and development in this field.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The final deleiverable of the project is the implementation of a leader-follower formation of quadcopters. It would include two quadcopters (F450 frame size) mounted with flight controllers ,GPS modules and connected via a datalink. Their flight would be in coordination and one would be following the other. User would give commands to the leader through his RC controller or MavLink Telemetry and the follower would automatically follow it.

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Others

Other Industries

Transportation , Security

Core Technology

Others

Other Technologies

Robotics

Sustainable Development Goals

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Required Resources

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