Zero-Sum Game-Based Finite-Time Robust Formation Tracking Control for Multi-Agent UAV Systems

Abstract

This paper develops a distributed control framework for leader–follower formation tracking in multi-agent unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems. Feedforward compensation converts the networked tracking task into local error stabilization problems, and an Lp zero-sum game is used to construct a finite-time robust feedback law. The disturbance-free closed loop is proven to converge in finite time, whereas under nonzero disturbances, the result is a certified Lp attenuation bound rather than exact finite-time convergence. A single-critic adaptive dynamic programming architecture approximates the value function, and an offline sampled data training procedure avoids injecting probing noise into the physical plant. In the reported planar outer-loop simulation, the local errors settle within 4.3 s, compared with 8.2 s for the quadratic L2 baseline, and the reported cumulative disturbance attenuation indicator decreases from 2.74 to 0.48. The current validation uses a fully actuated translational outer-loop abstraction; extensions to underactuated six-degree-of-freedom dynamics, saturation, and hardware experiments are left for future work Lp.