Research on the Application of Multi-rotor UAV Formation in the Hydrological Monitoring Field

In the context of the increasing demand for environmental monitoring, multi-rotor UAV formation has gradually become an important tool in hydrology monitoring. In this study, we propose a control algorithm for UAV formation utilizing an enhanced artificial potential field method. The obstacle avoidance problem in a complex environment for UAV formation is resolved by boosting the repulsive function and incorporating virtual target points, consequently strengthening the formation stability. At the same time, the consistency control algorithm is introduced to further optimize the speed oscillation problem during formation obstacle avoidance. Through MATLAB simulation, the proposed methodology demonstrates a markedly superior performance in the domains of path planning and obstacle avoidance when compared to conventional approaches, which proves its effectiveness and feasibility in practical application.