A Distributed Semi-Autonomous Strategy for One-to-Many UAV Cooperative Transport Within Virtual Tubes

This paper proposes a distributed strategy for oneto-many unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) transport, in which a single human operator can manage multiple UAVs in a semi-autonomous mode. Cooperative transport control and virtual tube passage control are integrated within the virtual system, allowing UAVs to safely get through pre-planned virtual tubes. A single human controller enters commands through the keyboard, and the router broadcasts the velocity scaling factor and desired rotation angle to all UAVs. The swarm executes keyboard commands for velocity adjustment along the tube, collective rotation, and collective return, which realize more diverse collective motion modes. Simulation with ten UAVs and outdoor experiments with three UAVs are conducted in two types of tubes: with a straight generator curve and with an irregular generator curve. The results indicate that the proposed strategy improves the consistency and adaptability of UAV swarms when unexpected situations arise.