Optimal Trajectory Planning for UAV Formation Using Theta* and Optimal Control

In the rapidly evolving landscape of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the optimization of cooperative behaviors holds paramount importance. In the field of cooperative trajectory planning for formations of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), this paper presents a novel approach that separates geometric path planning from collision avoidance. While the geometric path optimization considers a piecewise path made of straight segments, clothoid curves and circular arcs to avoid fixed obstacles, the collision avoidance between UAVs is solved through the definition of a mixed-integer quadratic programming optimal control problem.