A Software-in-the-Loop Simulation Scheme for Position Formation Flight of Multicopters

ABSTRACT The cooperative control of small unmanned aerial vehicles such as the multicopters has been extensively investigated worldwide for functionality augmentation and cost reduction with respect to a single larger vehicle. The present paper proposes a software-in-the-loop simulation scheme for performance evaluation and demonstration of formation flight control systems of multicopters. The simulation scheme consists of a computer network where each computer simulates one of the vehicles using the MATLAB/Simulink for implementing the local control system and the X-Plane for simulating the f...