A swarm of aircraft path plan to take advantage of the efficiency gain from flying together as a formation. I first explain how birds take advantage of one another to reduce induced drag and the challenges associated with applying this method to aircraft today. I then explain why it is difficult to predict formation flight paths and the algorithm I came up with to solve it. I then show the python function working with pygame and finish off with some conclusions about how an algorithm like this could be useful to implement formation flight swarm behavior in the future.
Thanks for watching! If you have any questions about my implementation or otherwise, feel free to ask. I glossed over a lot of details for the sake of brevity.
Sources:
1: • Birds gliding through ...
2: Lissaman PB, Shollenberger CA. Formation flight of birds. Science. 1970 May 22;168(3934):1003-5. doi: 10.1126/science.168.3934.1003. PMID: 5441020.
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13: Karaman, Sertac, and Emilio Frazzoli. "Sampling-based algorithms for optimal motion planning." The international journal of robotics research 30.7 (2011): 846-894.
Relevant Formation Flight Papers:
14: Xu, Jia, et al. "Aircraft route optimization for formation flight." Journal of Aircraft 51.2 (2014): 490-501.
15: Shen, He, et al. "ENERGY-SAVING FORMATION FLIGHT."
16: Xu, Jia, et al. "Aircraft route optimization for heterogeneous formation flight." 53rd AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference 20th AIAA/ASME/AHS Adaptive Structures Conference 14th AIAA. 2012.
17: Mahboubi, Zouhair, et al. "Camera based localization for autonomous UAV formation flight." Infotech@ Aerospace 2011. 2011. 1658.
27 июл 2024