Finite-Time Bearing-Based Formation Maneuver Control of Quadrotor UAVs

This article addresses the formation maneuvering control problem of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in 3-D space subject to unknown external disturbances. The finite-time bearing-based controller is designed to rapidly achieve translational and clustering maneuvers of the system. The leader-follower structure is adopted which can achieve formation mobility for all mem-bers by merely manipulating the position of the leaders. With the aid of finite-time theory and sliding-mode theory, the followers can achieve the desired trajec-tory. Additionally, considering the vulnerability of UAVs to external disturbances, adaptive control is utilized to improve the robustness of the system. Based on Lyapunov theory, formation errors, and all closed-loop signals can reach a stable state. Finally, numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.