Formation flight control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles with motion synchronization

In this thesis, the synchronized position tracking controller is incorporated in formation flight control for multiple flying wing UAVs. With this technology, the performance and effectiveness of the formation controller are improved when the virtual structure approach is utilized to maintain formation geometry. Simulations are conducted on the nonlinear model of two flying wings to verify the proposed controller. Implementation on the actual flying wings prototype system using a GumStix computer enable real flight test scenarios to be conducted for verifying the designed formation controller autonomously. Results from the actual experiments confirm the performance improvements of the formation controller when the motion synchronization control technique is incorporated.