Distributed cooperative fencing scheme for UAV swarm based on self-organized behaviors

In hunting mission for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) swarm, the distributed target-fencing problem is investigated. Generally, the most of researches are done by formation control. However, due to the dynamic and complex air-combat environment, an accurate formation strategy can not be provided for all situations. And inspired by natural creatures, such as ants and bees, this paper proposed a novel distributed cooperative fencing scheme without predefined formation. Firstly, the model of UAV swarm and distributed target-fencing problem are described. Secondly, considering the moving target's position could not be accessed in real time for some UAVs, a distributed position observer (DPO) is designed. Thirdly, a distributed cooperative fencing controller (DCFC) with DPO is proposed. The self-behavior rules and consensus theory are introduced to ensure that UAV swarm can enclose target in its convex hull without preset formation and collision. Meanwhile, the target's speed can be estimated adaptively by UAVs and their states tend to be consistent eventually. Finally, simulation results exhibit the effectiveness and robustness of proposed scheme.