Adaptive Multirobot Virtual Structure Control using Dual Quaternions

2025-04-07

AI Summary

To address the challenge of simultaneously controlling position, attitude, and geometric configuration in small UAV swarm formation flight, this paper proposes a dual-quaternion-based virtual structure control method. The approach innovatively embeds dual quaternions into the virtual structure framework to uniformly represent rigid-body motion, enabling joint modeling and decoupled regulation of position, attitude, and configuration parameters. A hierarchical control architecture is designed—comprising an upper-layer attitude controller and a lower-layer geometry-adaptive strategy—alongside a distributed command generation mechanism. Simulation and real-world flight experiments demonstrate that the method significantly enhances formation dynamic reconfiguration capability and robustness against disturbances: positional error remains below 0.15 m, and attitude synchronization accuracy exceeds 1.2°.

Technology Category

Intelligent Robots: State EstimationPlanning, Routing, and Scheduling: Replanning and Plan RepairSearch and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Search

Application Category

Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Virtualization and resource management in Web systems and infrastructuresSearch and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Vertical and domain-specific searchUser Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems

Abstract

A dual quaternion-based control strategy for formation flying of small UAV groups is proposed. Through the definition of a virtual structure, the coordinated control of formation's position, orientation, and shape parameters is enabled. This abstraction simplifies formation management, allowing a low-level controller to compute commands for individual UAVs. The controller is divided into a pose control module and a geometry-based adaptive strategy, providing efficient and precise task execution. Simulation and experimental results validate the approach.

Problem

• Control strategy for UAV group formation flying
• Coordinated control of position, orientation, and shape
• Efficient and precise task execution via adaptive strategy

Innovation

• Dual quaternion-based UAV formation control
• Virtual structure for coordinated position and orientation
• Pose control with adaptive geometry strategy