Switching topology approach for UAV formation based on binary-tree network

Abstract Formation control is one of the most active topics within the realm of coordination fields for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The formation pattern is an essential aspect which mainly influences the status of formation flight. This paper focuses on the switching topology approach for a few specific quadrotor UAV formations. A novel switching method based on the binary-tree network (BTN) is developed to realize the transformations between the V-shape and the complete binary tree shape (CBT-shape) topologies. The typical feature of the BTN is the chain structure. Based on the cascaded form of the BTN, a low level feedback controller is designed for the guidance and coordination of UAV swarms. Simulation results demonstrate that the BTN based approach is more superior in the computational cost and real-time performances than several traditional methods.