Reciprocal collision avoidance for autonomous formation flight applied to the 3D navigation of Quadrotors with onboard sensors

• Grant number: 15/11027-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2015
• End date: July 31, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science - Computer Systems
• Principal Investigator: Roberto Santos Inoue
• Grantee: André Sá de Mello
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The collision avoidance problem for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is a long date subject of research, but for which solutions historically tended to be developed by ad-hoc criteria, case by case, so that only recently robust methods for general use have begun to be developed. In effect, be it in theory or in application, the area holds great potential for growth, and due to the recent rise in popularity of such systems, there is also an enormous strategic interest for military and civilian use cases. This project proposes the application of the Optimal Reciprocal Collision Avoidance (ORCA) algorithm in the scope of formation flight for quadrotors, fitted with onboard sensors for the estimation of kinetic states of dynamic reactionary obstacles. The current state-of-the-art includes research for the application of ORCA for such UAV classes, however no known work has been made towards the integration of autonomous navigation and dynamic target convergence, as needed by formation flight situations.