Self-Localization of UAV Formations Using Bearing Measurements

This chapter begins by treating a localization problem recently encountered in an operational context; that is, localizing three agents moving in a plane when the interagent distances are known, and in addition, the angle subtended at each agent by lines drawn from two landmarks at known positions is also known. It address the localization problem where self-localization is achieved cooperatively among a team of bearing and distance sensing agents (e.g., unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or robots) and where the position information of the two landmarks is available, as are either interagent distances or the bearings measured to each agent of the agents in the formation. The generalization of the result for more than three agents is presented. In the end, the chapter briefly considers a closely related localization problem, where the agents can measure all the subtended angles at them, and show the uniqueness of the localization for the case.