Robust formation tracking control of multi-UAV system under time-delay conditions

Abstract

A robust control method based on the leader-follower control configuration is proposed for the formation tracking control issue of a multi-unmanned aerial vehicle (multi-UAV) system under the simultaneous presence of time-delay and external disturbances. First, based on consensus control theory, a distributed formation tracking control protocol is designed to account for the presence of time-delay and external disturbances. Then, by substituting the control protocol into the system model and employing variable substitutions, the formation tracking control problem of the multi-UAV system is transformed into the issue of asymptotic stability for a time-delay system. Furthermore, by constructing a set of linear matrix inequalities, the maximum allowable upper bound for the time delay that guarantees the stability of the time-delay system is calculated. Additionally, using Lyapunov stability theory, the correctness of the method for calculating asymptotic stability and the time-delay upper bound is demonstrated. Finally, numerical simulation experiments are conducted with a multi-UAV system consisting of five drones. The results show that the designed control protocol can achieve rapid and smooth formation tracking control under the simultaneous presence of time-delay and external disturbances.