Fixed-Time Control for Cooperative Target Encirclement and Tracking by Multi-UAV

In the research, a new fixed-time control method is proposed for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (multi-UAV) to address cooperative target encirclement and tracking. Initially, only the position information about the target is used in this method. Subsequently, based on an interconnected system and a fixed-time lemma, a guidance law is proposed to control all UAVs to move along a circle centered on the target and the distance between every pair of UAVs remains consistent. The fixed-time stability of the system is rigorously mathematically proved, based on which the bounds on the convergence time can be accurately derived. Finally, a simulation demonstrates the feasibility of the designed strategy.