Collaborative target tracking for swarming MAVs using potential fields and panel methods

Abstract

This paper presents the use of Potential Field and Panel Methods to generate trajectories for swarming Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) to track a moving target. The method provides obstacle and collision avoidance. Each vehicle is represented by a point source singularity in the potential field and the direction to the target is used in the calculations as the direction of the free stream velocity for the panel method. Obstacles are modeled through vortex panels covering the surface of the bodies. The vehicle trajectories are dynamically updated at each instant in time. The method is applied to multiple vehicles and demonstrated on a moving target problem in a suburban environment. The simulation results are quite encouraging in the sense that MAV swarms quickly locate and track the assigned target in an environment filled with complex shaped structures, while avoiding obstacles and collisions among themselves. © 2008 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.