Cooperative circular pattern target tracking using navigation function

This paper demonstrates a guidance law of multiple UAVs for circular pattern target tracking using only range sensors in a fully connected network using the navigation function. The navigation function consists of a goal function and an obstacle function to arrive at the goal point while avoiding obstacles during navigation. The decentralized navigation function for multiple UAVs is modified to create evenly spaced positions at the so-called sweet spot, with which the information of the target can be maximized while collision avoidance is achieved. The proposed navigation function is verified by simulation studies. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.