Research on VTOL Airborne Docking Technology Based on Tag Recognition

Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft formation operations have significant advantages in various application scenarios. It is worth noting that the high energy consumption and limited payload capacity of VTOL aircraft constrain the operational range of the entire robotic team. To address this issue, this paper proposes a VTOL aircraft airborne docking cooperative system, which allows VTOL aircraft to dock with an airborne platform of the same layout along the longitudinal axis. Firstly, the system utilizes the Dijkstra path planning algorithm to guide the two aircraft designated for docking to their respective docking location. Secondly, the ArucoTag visual recognition method is employed for real-time detection and tracking of the airborne platform. Finally, the aircraft airborne autonomous docking is accomplished through a manipulator. This strategy helps improve the current situation of occasional GPS signal loss during collaborative docking in indoor and near-ground environments, enabling multi-robot teams to execute tasks more flexibly and persistently. The autonomous docking method can be initiated multiple times, expanding the team's task execution capabilities.