Trajectory-Tracking and Centralized Control for Mapping Tasks Using Multiple Drones

This study focuses on improving multiple drones' trajectory tracking accuracy and completion time in mapping assignments. A centralized control system is applied to drones to achieve such performance. The system tracking accuracy is supported by dense square fiducial markers (SFM) as positioning media. The drone's position is assumed to be at the camera's center, leading to more precise calculations. Detecting multiple markers also ensures that the drones do not lose positional information over long distances, resulting in more accurate position estimation. The test is conducted indoors with two drones, with trajectory tracking tests performed along the x-axis and y-axis within a <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$5\times 4\ \mathrm{m}^{2}$</tex> area. The test shows that the root means squared tracking error (RMSTE) when the drones moved along the positive x-axis was 5.2 cm, less than 20% of the drone's diameter. During the mapping assignment, the drones traced an S-shaped route and obtained RMSTE values of 12.3 cm for drone A and 22.5 cm for drone B, with a travel time of 51 seconds from takeoff to landing. Therefore, detecting multiple markers improves trajectory tracking capabilities, enabling drones to perform mapping tasks efficiently, even in confined areas.