abstract
- Highlights: What are the main findings? The controller is based on adaptive sliding mode control to ensure finite-time convergence under uncertainties. Practical finite-time performance was demonstrated through Lyapunov-based stability analysis. What is the implication of the main finding? Enables robust control without overestimating gains, improving efficiency and adaptability. Provides a scalable framework for formation control with integrated inter-agent collision avoidance. This manuscript presents a robust formation and collision-free containment control system designed for a quadrotor fleet operating under turbulent wind conditions. Emphasizing collision avoidance, we introduce a two-layer strategy in which a virtual leader defines a trajectory, and leaders and followers maintain their positions while avoiding collisions among them. A graph convention is used to illustrate the roles of leaders and followers, as well as their interactions. Inter-agent collision avoidance is proposed by expanding the desired distance relative to all neighboring agents, thereby guaranteeing the convergence stage. Moreover, the approach employs a class of adaptive sliding mode strategies to ensure finite-time convergence, as well as non-overestimation of the control gain in the presence of uncertainties and perturbations. A stability analysis demonstrates the practical finite-time stability of the system using the Lyapunov methodology. Results from the simulation underscore the effectiveness of our proposal in adhering to the desired time-varying trajectories and ensuring sensor-less inter-agent collision avoidance for the followers, even in the presence of turbulent wind conditions. © 2025 by the authors.