A review on control and maneuvering of cooperative fixed-wing drones

• Published in: International journal of dynamics and control Vol. 9; no. 3; pp. 1332 - 1349
• Main Authors: Elijah, Thato, Jamisola, Rodrigo S., Tjiparuro, Zeundjua, Namoshe, Molaletsa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Actuators; Aircraft configurations; Complexity; Control; Control and Systems Theory; Cooperative control; Drones; Dynamical Systems; Endurance; Engineering; Fixed wings; Literature reviews; Rotors; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Vibration; Fixed-wing drones; critical review; cooperative control; cooperation strategies; maneuverability; wing, rotor, and tail configurations
• ISSN: 2195-268X; 2195-2698
• DOI: 10.1007/s40435-020-00710-2

This paper presents a literature review on current studies in cooperative control of fixed-wing drones, including maneuvering through adjustments of the tail, rotor, and wing configurations. Cooperative fixed-wing drones are important because of their larger area coverage that allows them to complete the assigned task much faster compared to a single fixed-wing drone. In addition, the endurance of cooperative fixed-wing drones is much higher compared to the endurance of cooperative multi-rotor drones. The papers presented in this review were selected to have as wide a variety as possible in terms of cooperation architectures and strategies, as well as in terms of wing, tail, and rotor configurations. With the rapid advancement of computers, sensors, and actuators which are major components of drones in general, the advancement of fixed-wing drone technology is a logical consequence. And further, this can lead to the advancement of cooperative fixed wing drone which have a much bigger capability compared to a single UAV.