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Volume 9
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10.3390/drones9080560
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

A Two-Layer Framework for Cooperative Standoff Tracking of a Ground Moving Target Using Dual UAVs

by
Jing Chen
1,
Dong Yin
1,2,*,
Jing Fu
1,
Yirui Cong
1,2,
Hao Chen
1,2,
Xuan Yang
3,
Haojun Zhao
1 and
Lihuan Liu
1
1
College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
2
National Key Laboratory of Equipment State Sensing and Smart Support, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China
3
Northwest Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Xianyang 712099, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Drones 2025, 9(8), 560; https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9080560 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 16 June 2025 / Revised: 3 August 2025 / Accepted: 6 August 2025 / Published: 9 August 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

Standoff tracking of a ground-moving target with a single fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is vulnerable to occlusions around the target, such as buildings and terrain, which can obstruct the line of sight (LOS) between the UAV and the target, resulting in tracking failures. To address these challenges, multi-UAV cooperative tracking is often employed, offering multi-angle coverage and mitigating the limitations of a single UAV by maintaining continuous target visibility, even when one UAV’s LOS is obstructed. Building on this idea, we propose a specialized two-layer framework for dual-UAV cooperative target tracking. This framework comprises a decision-making layer and a guidance layer. The decision-making layer employs a state-transition-based distributed role transition algorithm for dual UAVs. Here, the UAVs periodically share state variables based on their target observability. In the guidance layer, we devise a velocity-vector-field-based controller to simplify the complexity of controller design for cooperative tracking. To validate the proposed framework, three numerical simulations and one hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation were conducted. These simulations confirmed that the role transition algorithm functions properly even under occlusion conditions. Additionally, the standoff tracking guidance controller demonstrated superior performance compared to baseline methods in terms of tracking accuracy and stability.
Keywords: Dual-UAV; cooperative standoff tracking; moving target; role transition; velocity vector field Dual-UAV; cooperative standoff tracking; moving target; role transition; velocity vector field

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Chen, J.; Yin, D.; Fu, J.; Cong, Y.; Chen, H.; Yang, X.; Zhao, H.; Liu, L. A Two-Layer Framework for Cooperative Standoff Tracking of a Ground Moving Target Using Dual UAVs. Drones 2025, 9, 560. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9080560

AMA Style

Chen J, Yin D, Fu J, Cong Y, Chen H, Yang X, Zhao H, Liu L. A Two-Layer Framework for Cooperative Standoff Tracking of a Ground Moving Target Using Dual UAVs. Drones. 2025; 9(8):560. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9080560

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chen, Jing, Dong Yin, Jing Fu, Yirui Cong, Hao Chen, Xuan Yang, Haojun Zhao, and Lihuan Liu. 2025. "A Two-Layer Framework for Cooperative Standoff Tracking of a Ground Moving Target Using Dual UAVs" Drones 9, no. 8: 560. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9080560

APA Style

Chen, J., Yin, D., Fu, J., Cong, Y., Chen, H., Yang, X., Zhao, H., & Liu, L. (2025). A Two-Layer Framework for Cooperative Standoff Tracking of a Ground Moving Target Using Dual UAVs. Drones, 9(8), 560. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones9080560

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