All-Onboard Relative Positioning and Control Framework for Autonomous Micro-UAV Swarms Based on Vision-Optoelectronic-UWB Fusion and Distributed Graph Optimization

Abstract

The autonomous cooperation of micro-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) swarms remain key challenges. Existing swarm relative positioning and control methods demand high sensing, computing, and communication resources and rely on external equipment like GPS and ground stations. To address these issues, this paper proposes an all-onboard and external-aiding-free swarm relative measurement, positioning and control framework. The framework utilizes an onboard Vision-Optoelectronic-Ultra-Wideband (UWB) coupled measurement system to acquire inter-UAV relative distance and direction. Subsequently, the swarm's relative positions are solved via a distributed graph optimization (DGO) approach. Based on the solved relative positions, swarm cooperative control is implemented through a distributed Voronoi diagram approach. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method enables 150 g micro-UAVs to achieve nearly 100-meter autonomous outdoor formation flight and collaborative tracking of dynamic targets, with swarm relative localization accuracy reaching approximately 0.262 m. This work pioneers fully autonomous measurement and control for 100-gram scale UAV swarms without external infrastructure, significantly advancing autonomy and enabling swarm intelligence emergence.