Extension of Coordinate Systems and Outdoor Autonomous Swarming Flight using 130 Mini Quadrotors

Abstract

This article presents the extension of existing coordinate systems for autonomous swarming flight and subsequent experimental results using 130 mini quadrotors. The flight performance of mini quadrotors has been continuously improved in our laboratory, the Unmanned System Research Group (USRG). Mini quadrotors can fly autonomously using a GNSS-based navigation algorithm. We also extended the horizontal and equatorial coordinate systems to more easily generate a three-dimensional flight path, and these coordinate systems represent a powerful tool for the generation of flight paths and the improvement in flight quality. To confirm the effectiveness of the proposed coordinate systems, we assessed autonomous swarming flight using 130 mini quadrotors.