Formation Control for Cooperative Localization of MAV Swarms (Demonstration)

Large UAVs depend on GPS technology to accurately describe their position, and navigate to their objectives successfully. However, Micro Air Vehicles (MAVS) cannot rely on GPS technology when navigating indoors. Much research has been conducted to develop robust control systems for MAV formations. Most of this research requires off-board sensing to provide formation control. In this work we demonstrate a formation control technique for MAVs, using on-board sensing and off-board processing. We demonstrate the usage of on-board vision and inertial sensors to localize two MAVs relative to each other. Our hardware platform is the Parrot AR Drone, which has a vast sensor suite including two on-board cameras, an inertial measurement unit, compass, and ultrasonic range-finder for altitude measurement. The drones are controlled using National Instrument's LabView 2011, and commands are issued wirelessly via a 802.11 WIFI network.