Formation Control of Quadcopters with Variable Formation using Fuzzy-PID Controller

Zakipour Behambari, Seyedeh Mahsa; Khankalantary, Saeed

doi:10.22044/jadm.2025.15865.2702

Document Type : Original/Review Paper

Authors

Department of Electrical Engineering, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22044/jadm.2025.15865.2702

Abstract

This paper focuses on the design of advanced controllers and the implementation of magnetic tracking and velocity tracking at the position control and formation control levels for a group of quadcopters. Initially, PID controllers are developed based on the quadcopter structure, and then a constrained fuzzy-PID controller is introduced to steer the system to the desired position. The performance of this controller is compared with classical PID and fuzzy-PID controllers. This study examines the arrangement and formation coordination of six quadcopters under three different scenarios, evaluating their formation control and coordination. Each quadcopter has an internal controller responsible for maintaining formation accuracy and system stability. Due to the complexity of quadcopter dynamics, trajectory tracking is one of the most challenging research areas. In this regard, a fuzzy-PID controller is proposed to stabilize the quadcopter along predefined trajectories, utilizing speed information as input. Simulation results in the MATLAB/Simulink environment demonstrate that the fuzzy-PID controller outperforms the classical PID controller. Moreover, this controller exhibits greater resistance to external disturbances across all axes, higher accuracy in reducing tracking errors, and improved stability. This superiority is particularly evident in multi-agent systems, emphasizing the significance of advanced control techniques in enhancing the regulation of both single and multi-agent quadcopters. Ultimately, this improves tracking performance while ensuring dynamic efficiency in uncertain environments.

Keywords

Main Subjects

H.6.5.11. Robotics

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