Three-dimensional optimal formation reconfiguration for Multi-UAVs based on Chebyshev pseudospectral method

This paper studies the three-dimensional elastic formation control problem of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (Multi-UAVs). To make the formation geometric shapes adapt to the flight velocity, three-dimensional elastic distance vector are proposed. The terminal formation shapes can be set with the vector about desired look-ahead point. On this basis, the follower vehicles' motion equations are put forward. Moreover, the formation reconfiguration is modeled as a fuel optimal control problem, which is transformed into a nonlinear programming problem by Chebyshev pseudospectral method. Numerical simulations indicate the proposed elastic formation reconfiguration algorithm is effective, robust and flexible.