Implementation of Real-Time Swarm Drone Formation Using Firebase and MIT App Inventor with Interpolation-Based Control in Gazebo
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30871/jaic.v10i1.11767Keywords:
swarm drone, formation control, Firebase, Mit App Inventor, ROS, GazeboAbstract
This paper presents the implementation of a real-time swarm drone formation control system that leverages Firebase as the communication bridge and MIT App Inventor as the user interface. The simulation is conducted in the Gazebo environment with five quadcopter drones. Formation commands are sent from an Android application to Firebase, then processed by a Python-based ROS node to adjust drone positions. Four primary formations - line, triangle, circle, and star - are implemented, along with a dynamic mode enabling sequential transitions among multiple patterns. The integration of linear interpolation ensures smooth transitions, consistent timing, and stable hovering. Experimental results show an average response delay of 0.4–0.6 seconds and stable altitude at 3.5 meters. This approach demonstrates an intuitive and scalable swarm control method. Future enhancements may include telemetry feedback, Firebase authentication, and PID tuning to optimize control accuracy.
Downloads
References
[1] Q. Ouyang, Z. Wu, Y. Cong, and Z. Wang, “Formation control of unmanned aerial vehicle swarms: A comprehensive review,” Asian J Control, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 2943–2965, 2023.
[2] Y. Zhou, B. Rao, and W. Wang, “UAV swarm intelligence: Recent advances and future trends,” IEEE Access, vol. 8, no., pp. 183919–183932, 2020.
[3] M. et al. Abdelkader, “Aerial swarms: Recent applications and challenges,” IEEE Robot Autom Mag, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 82–95, 2021.
[4] S. et al. Javed, “State-of-the-art and future research challenges in UAV swarms,” IEEE Internet Things J, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 4120–4142, 2024.
[5] J. et al. Chen, “Review of unmanned aerial vehicle swarm communication architectures,” IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 2699–2737, 2020.
[6] X. et al. Zheng, “Visually smooth multi-UAV formation transformation,” Graph Models, vol. 113, no., p. 101130, 2021.
[7] J. Zhang, J. Yan, and P. Zhang, “Multi-UAV formation control based on a novel back-stepping approach,” IEEE Trans Veh Technol, vol. 69, no. 8, pp. 8439–8451, 2020.
[8] J. et al. Guo, “Research on multi-UAV formation and semi-physical simulation with virtual structure,” IEEE Access, vol. 11, no., pp. 74291–74305, 2023.
[9] Y. et al. Wang, “Multi-agent bifurcation consensus-based multi-layer UAVs formation keeping control and its visual simulation,” IEEE Trans Industr Inform, vol. 19, no. 10, pp. 10145–10156, 2023.
[10] T. et al. Xu, “Distributed MPC for trajectory tracking and formation control of multi-UAVs with leader–follower structure,” IEEE Access, vol. 11, no., pp. 35641–35655, 2023.
[11] Various Authors, “CloudStation: A cloud-based ground control station for drones,” Sensors, vol. 21, no. 9, p. Article 3114, 2021.
[12] Various Authors, “A UAV-swarm control platform architecture based on cloud computing,” Applied Sciences, vol. 12, no. 14, p. Article 7123, 2022.
[13] J. et al. Wu, “Formation control algorithms for multi-UAV systems with unstable topologies and hybrid delays,” IEEE Trans Netw Sci Eng, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 1385–1397, 2024.
[14] Y. et al. Liu, “Flexible multi-UAV formation control via integrating deep reinforcement learning and affine transformations,” Aerosp Sci Technol, vol. 147, no., p. 108195, 2025.
[15] Z. et al. Pan, “An improved artificial potential field method for path planning and formation control of multi-UAV systems,” IEEE Trans Syst Man Cybern Syst, vol. 51, no. 11, pp. 7098–7109, 2021.
[16] Various Authors, “Self-organizing UAV swarm simulation platform based on cloud computing,” J Intell Robot Syst, vol. 109, no. 3, p. Article 64, 2023.
[17] K. et al. Xiao, “XTDrone: A customizable multi-rotor UAVs simulation platform,” IEEE Robot Autom Lett, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 2661–2668, 2020.
[18] Z. et al. Chen, “A survey on open-source simulation platforms for multi-copter UAV swarms,” Robotics, vol. 12, no. 3, p. Article 79, 2023.
[19] Y. et al. Li, “Design of UAV swarm simulation platform based on ROS1 and ROS2 hybrid architecture,” IEEE Access, vol. 11, no., pp. 91234–91248, 2023.
[20] S. et al. Khaliq, “Multi-platform hardware-in-the-loop simulation for decentralized swarm communication using ROS and Gazebo,” IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 59, no. 8, pp. 70–76, 2021.
[21] B. Siciliano, L. Villani, and A. De Luca, “Trajectory Tracking for UAVs: An Interpolating Control Approach,” Aerosp Sci Technol, vol. 117, no., p. 106975, 2021.
[22] A. Alessandri, M. Baglietto, and G. Battistelli, “Interpolating control based trajectory tracking for UAVs,” IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 2601–2613, 2022.
[23] H. Zhang, Y. Wang, and L. Liu, “Cubic spline interpolation-based UAV path planning,” J Intell Robot Syst, vol. 103, no. 4, p. Article 87, 2021.
[24] JAIC Authors, “Design and Implementation of UAV Gimbal Stabilization System,” Journal of Applied Informatics and Computing, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 45–52, 2025.
[25] JAIC Authors, “Hand Gesture-Based Control System for UAV Swarm Applications,” Journal of Applied Informatics and Computing, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 53–61, 2025.
[26] M. Quigley et al., “Robot Operating System (ROS): An Open-Source Robot Middleware,” IEEE Robot Autom Mag, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 72–81, 2009.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Ryan Satria Wijaya, Hendawan Soebhakti, Rifqi Amalya Fatekha, Sarah Anggraini
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) ) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
