Robust Distributed Control Strategy forFormation Reconfiguration of Autonomous Multi-UAV Systems Using Flocking Behavior

Robust Distributed Control Strategy forFormation Reconfiguration of Autonomous Multi-UAV Systems Using Flocking Behavior | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Robust Distributed Control Strategy forFormation Reconfiguration of Autonomous Multi-UAV Systems Using Flocking Behavior Nilla Perdana Agustina, Purwadi Agus Darwito, Bambang L. Widjiantoro, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297942/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper presents a distributed formation control method for multi-quadcopter systems based on a virtual-leader approach with a dynamic reconfiguration strategy. The proposed framework generates reference positions for each quadcopter by mapping predefined geometric formation offsets relative to the virtual leader, allowing the swarm to follow a global motion reference. Variations in formation shape and changes in the number of active agents, caused by agent dropout and re-entry, are handled through an angular redistribution mechanism that preserves the symmetry of both circular and elliptical formations. To achieve robust trajectory tracking under bounded disturbances and modeling uncertainties, a twisting second-order sliding mode control scheme is employed. In addition, a flocking-based spacing regulation mechanism is integrated to maintain inter-agent separation and prevent collisions using only local relative information. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is validated through simulation studies involving waypoint transitions, formation switching, and dynamic agent membership. Results demonstrate stable and cohesive formation behavior with accurate tracking performance despite environmental disturbances. The proposed method is robust, adaptive, and suitable for cooperative multi-quadcopter missions requiring real-time formation maintenance and reconfiguration. Multiquadcopter reconfiguration strategy virtual leader flocking algorithm Twisting Sliding Mode Control Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 09 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 06 May, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 15 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 13 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9297942","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":637281245,"identity":"8ea6b556-bd96-4bad-86f5-0b989b30d334","order_by":0,"name":"Nilla Perdana Agustina","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nilla","middleName":"Perdana","lastName":"Agustina","suffix":""},{"id":637281246,"identity":"14b133fa-1d5b-4105-a166-f2d9d8ee8ea6","order_by":1,"name":"Purwadi Agus Darwito","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8klEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHACAyCWYGBgb4CyQSCBjbAWCQaeAyC2AdFagNZIJMA5QIBHizn74Y2fK9ss6vglHx97wFDwx56B/fADhgdluLVY9qQVS55tk5CQnJ2WbgB0WGIDT5oBQ8I5PK46kGMg2bhNQsLgdo6ZBFAL0Hk5DAyJbXi0nH9j/BOs5eb5byAt9gz8bwhouZFjBrHlBg8bSAtjgwQBWyxnPCuzbPwnITmzJ83cIMHAOLFN4pnBAXx+MedP3nyz4UwdPz/74WcPPvyRs+fnT3748AeeEDNAYrMxJDBAYuQAbg3oWkbBKBgFo2AUYAMAPcBIeH8AaM8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Purwadi","middleName":"Agus","lastName":"Darwito","suffix":""},{"id":637281247,"identity":"3510e0ff-5229-418a-af2e-ab8f4c40e27b","order_by":2,"name":"Bambang L. Widjiantoro","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bambang","middleName":"L.","lastName":"Widjiantoro","suffix":""},{"id":637281249,"identity":"d489f127-5f92-4ac7-a914-1a6d31f9c9f1","order_by":3,"name":"Detak Yan Pratama","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Detak","middleName":"Yan","lastName":"Pratama","suffix":""},{"id":637281251,"identity":"a6e5e822-9194-4b2a-9292-5b7ac096865e","order_by":4,"name":"Murry Raditya","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"National Taiwan University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Murry","middleName":"","lastName":"Raditya","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-02 04:24:39","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297942/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297942/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":109241619,"identity":"fe3c3469-e926-42d4-bd83-89bf7cf88e40","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-14 06:55:32","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2365055,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"DiscoverArtificialIntelligenceSN.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9297942/v1_covered_e86441f7-9ea4-49ca-9e01-b73d32820fce.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Robust Distributed Control Strategy forFormation Reconfiguration of Autonomous Multi-UAV Systems Using Flocking Behavior","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-artificial-intelligence","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"diai","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Artificial Intelligence](https://www.springer.com/44163)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Artificial Intelligence","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Multiquadcopter, reconfiguration strategy, virtual leader, flocking algorithm, Twisting Sliding Mode Control","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297942/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297942/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This paper presents a distributed formation control method for multi-quadcopter systems based on a virtual-leader approach with a dynamic reconfiguration strategy. The proposed framework generates reference positions for each quadcopter by mapping predefined geometric formation offsets relative to the virtual leader, allowing the swarm to follow a global motion reference. Variations in formation shape and changes in the number of active agents, caused by agent dropout and re-entry, are handled through an angular redistribution mechanism that preserves the symmetry of both circular and elliptical formations. To achieve robust trajectory tracking under bounded disturbances and modeling uncertainties, a twisting second-order sliding mode control scheme is employed. In addition, a flocking-based spacing regulation mechanism is integrated to maintain inter-agent separation and prevent collisions using only local relative information. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is validated through simulation studies involving waypoint transitions, formation switching, and dynamic agent membership. Results demonstrate stable and cohesive formation behavior with accurate tracking performance despite environmental disturbances. The proposed method is robust, adaptive, and suitable for cooperative multi-quadcopter missions requiring real-time formation maintenance and reconfiguration.","manuscriptTitle":"Robust Distributed Control Strategy forFormation Reconfiguration of Autonomous Multi-UAV Systems Using Flocking Behavior","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-14 06:53:19","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9297942/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-09T08:23:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"227278803718673362571331991436809932773","date":"2026-05-08T09:16:48+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-05-06T09:10:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-04-15T05:16:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-13T15:51:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Discover Artificial Intelligence","date":"2026-04-13T12:43:40+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-artificial-intelligence","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"diai","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Artificial Intelligence](https://www.springer.com/44163)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Artificial Intelligence","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"37fe37d3-59fe-439f-9042-67da0af3a524","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 14th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-05-09T08:23:15+00:00","index":23,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"227278803718673362571331991436809932773","date":"2026-05-08T09:16:48+00:00","index":18,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"18","date":"2026-05-06T09:10:28+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-14T06:53:19+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-14 06:53:19","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9297942","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9297942","identity":"rs-9297942","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}