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Autonomous Formation Systems: Guidance, Dynamics and Control

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Aerospace Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2025) | Viewed by 10803

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jihe Wang

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Associate Professor, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: satellite formation/cluster dynamics and control; satellite constellation design and control; drag-free satellite mechanics and control
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Dr. Wei Wang

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Guest Editor

Associate Professor, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: astrodynamics; spacecraft relative motion; satellite formation flying; asteroid exploration; trajectory design and optimization
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Dr. Chengxi Zhang

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Guest Editor

Associate Professor, School of Internet of Things Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214082, China
Interests: robotics and control; intelligent planning and applications
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Dr. Ran Sun

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Guest Editor

School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
Interests: spacecraft dynamics and control; asteroid exploration; multi-agent systems
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Dr. Jin Wu

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Guest Editor

Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
Interests: optimization; symbolic computation; robotics; navigation; optimal filtering; orbit determination; hybridization theory
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Autonomous formation systems have made several previously difficult missions possible, as well as enhanced the quality of many existing missions. A formation system comprising multiple members not only inherits the challenges encountered by a single-member system, but there are also new concerns to address in order to achieve cooperation. Multiple spacecraft formations, for example, are engaged in the dynamical coupling of orbit and attitude throughout flight, as are large-scale systems with communication time delays, etc.

This Special Issue aims to collect broad research findings in autonomous formation systems, including the topics of guidance, dynamics, control, planning, and decision making. We are especially interested in recent studies involving multi-body autonomous systems. We invite submissions of papers on all relevant topics, including in the fields of aerospace, robotics, and aircraft.

Dr. Jihe Wang
Dr. Wei Wang
Dr. Chengxi Zhang
Dr. Ran Sun
Dr. Jin Wu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

spacecraft formation, constellation systems
robotics, aircraft systems
mission management and trajectory planning
guidance, dynamics, and control
swarm intelligence of networked systems

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1929 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Solar Sail-Based Mars-Synchronous Displaced Orbits for Remote Sensing Applications

by Marco Bassetto and Alessandro A. Quarta

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 5001; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14125001 - 7 Jun 2024

Viewed by 1402

Abstract

A solar sail is a propellantless propulsion system that allows a spacecraft to use solar radiation pressure as a propulsive source for planetary and deep space missions that would be difficult, or even unfeasible, to accomplish with more conventional thrusters, either chemical or electric. A challenging application for these fascinating propulsion systems is a heliocentric mission that requires a displaced non-Keplerian orbit (DNKO), that is, a solar sail-induced closed trajectory in which the orbital plane does not contain the Sun’s center of mass. In fact, thanks to the pioneering work of McInnes, it is known that a solar sail is able to reach and maintain a family of heliocentric DNKOs of given characteristics. The aim of this paper is to analyze the properties of Mars-synchronous circular DNKOs, which have an orbital period matching that of the planet for remote sensing applications. In fact, those specific displaced orbits allow a scientific probe to continuously observe the high-latitude regions of Mars from a quasi-stationary position relative to the planet. In this context, this paper also analyzes the optimal (i.e., the minimum-time) heliocentric transfer trajectory from the Earth to circular DNKOs in two special mission scenarios taken as a reference. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Autonomous Formation Systems: Guidance, Dynamics and Control)

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23 pages, 12525 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Stochastic Properties of MEMS Accelerometers and Gyroscopes Used in the Miniature Flight Data Recorder

by Paweł Rzucidło, Grzegorz Kopecki, Piotr Szczerba and Piotr Szwed

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 1121; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14031121 - 29 Jan 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1697

Abstract

MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) gyroscopes and accelerometers are used in several applications. They are very popular due to their small size, low price, and accessibility. The design of MEMS accelerometers enables the measurement of vibrations, with frequencies from tenths of hertz to even 1 kHz. MEMS gyroscopes can be applied to measure angular rates, and indirectly also angular oscillations with frequencies similar to accelerometers. Despite significant stochastic errors, MEMS sensors are used not only in popular domestic appliances (e.g., smartphones) but also in safety-critical units, such as aeronautical attitude and heading reference systems (AHRSs). In engineering, methods of stochastic properties analysis are important tools for sensor selection, verification, and the design of measurement algorithms. In this article, three methods used for the analysis of stochastic properties of sensors are presented and comparative analyses are shown. The applied measurement frequencies (1 kHz) were much higher than those typically found in MEMS sensor applications. Additionally, an exemplary analysis of temperature drift frequency, as well as the possibility for the synthesis of complementary filter parameters with the use of the described methods, is shown. Assessment of the stochastic properties of MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes was performed under both constant and variable temperature conditions (during warm-up after switching on) with the use of classic methods, such as power spectral density (PSD) and Allan variance (AV), as well as the less known but very promising generalized method of wavelet moments (GMWM). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Autonomous Formation Systems: Guidance, Dynamics and Control)

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13 pages, 2509 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Model-Free Online Learning Control for Attitude Tracking of Quadrotors

by Lining Tan, Guodong Jin, Shuhua Zhou and Lianfeng Wang

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(3), 980; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14030980 - 23 Jan 2024

Viewed by 1219

Abstract

This paper investigates the problem of attitude tracking in quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) using a model-free online learning control (MFOLC) scheme. The attitude system, which is represented by unit quaternions, is considered in the presence of uncertain and unknown inertia parameters, time-varying external disturbances, and angular velocity measurement noise. A computationally low-cost control scheme consisting of a model-free baseline controller and a module capable of learning from previous control input is designed. The proposed controller does not require precise inertial parameters and does not involve feedforward terms that use these parameters and true system states. This ensures that the approach can protect the control effort from sensor noise as well as parameter uncertainty. We also show that all the signals in the closed-loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded. Comparative simulations and real-world experiments are conducted for validation, which demonstrate the effectiveness and fine performance of the proposed scheme. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Autonomous Formation Systems: Guidance, Dynamics and Control)

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17 pages, 3377 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Adaptive Control System for Aerial Vehicles

by Vladimir Beliaev, Nadezhda Kunicina, Anastasija Ziravecka, Martins Bisenieks, Roberts Grants and Antons Patlins

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(23), 12940; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132312940 - 4 Dec 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3347

Abstract

This article represents and compares two control systems for a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV): a sliding proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller and an adaptive L1 controller. The goal is to design a high-performing and stable control system for a specific VTOL drone. The mathematical model of the unique VTOL drone is presented as a control object. The sliding PID and adaptive L1 controllers are then developed and simulated, and their performance is compared. Simulation results demonstrate that both control systems achieve stable and accurate flight of the VTOL drone, but the adaptive L1 controller outperforms the sliding PID controller in terms of robustness and adaptation to changing conditions. This research contributes to ongoing work on adaptive control systems for VTOL UAVs and highlights the potential benefits of using L1 adaptive control for this application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Autonomous Formation Systems: Guidance, Dynamics and Control)

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24 pages, 6671 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamics and Control of Satellite Formations Invariant under the Zonal Harmonic Perturbation

by Stefano Carletta

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 4969; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13084969 - 15 Apr 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1918

Abstract

A satellite formation operating in low-altitude orbits is subject to perturbations associated to the higher-order harmonics of the gravitational field, which cause a degradation of the formation configurations designed based on the unperturbed model of the Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire equations. To compensate for these effects, periodic reconfiguration maneuvers are necessary, requiring the prior allocation of a propellant mass budget and, eventually, the use of resources from the ground segment, having a non-negligible impact on the complexity and cost of the mission. Using the Hamiltonian formalism and canonical transformations, a model is developed that allows designing configurations for formation flying invariant with respect to the zonal harmonic perturbation.

J_{n}

invariant configurations can be characterized, selecting the drift rate (or boundedness condition) and the amplitude of the oscillations, based on four parameters which can be easily converted in position and velocity components for the satellites of the formation. From this model, a guidance strategy is developed to inject a satellite approaching another spacecraft into a bounded relative trajectory about it and the optimal time for the maneuver, minimizing the total

Δ V

, is identified. The effectiveness of the model and of the guidance strategy is verified on some scenarios of interest for formations operating in a sun-synchronous and a medium-inclination low Earth orbit and a medium-inclination lunar orbit. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Autonomous Formation Systems: Guidance, Dynamics and Control)

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