Aggregation and Formation for Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: A Model Predictive Control Approach

This paper proposes a model predictive control (MPC)-based method for the aggregation planning and formation control of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The approach addresses the challenges of multi-UAV coordination, including synchronized aggregation from dispersed initial positions and the maintenance of geometric formations under dynamic constraints. The MPC framework integrates temporal and physical constraints into both trajectory generation and control design, enabling efficient and collision-free UAV convergence. Additionally, the virtual structure method is employed, treating the UAV formation as a rigid body to simplify trajectory planning. The combined approach ensures that the reference trajectory of the formation center is computed, and individual UAV paths are derived based on predefined geometric relationships. Simulations demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed MPC framework.