SwarmFly: MATLAB platform for UAV swarm experiments with 4 coordination modes

Researchers from academia have released SwarmFly, a comprehensive MATLAB-based simulation platform designed to address the lack of maintainable, modular open-source tools for UAV swarm experiment design and validation. Existing simulators often suffer from steep learning curves, are unmaintained, or are locked into single scenarios. SwarmFly combines a real-time operational map, four distinct swarm coordination modes (leader-follower, decentralized, heterogeneous relay, and heterogeneous speed), simulated IMU telemetry, and IP-based geolocation. Its plugin architecture—featuring eight bundled plugins—lets researchers add custom behaviors, fault models, and analysis tools without touching the core codebase, enabling rapid prototyping and testing.

SwarmFly was validated through eight experiments that quantified formation accuracy, wind tolerance, fault recovery, energy endurance, and airspace compliance. The platform runs entirely in MATLAB and its modular design supports straightforward extension toward hardware-in-the-loop testing, larger swarms, and higher-fidelity dynamics. An open-source release is available, making it accessible for robotics researchers and UAV engineers looking to design, test, and iterate on swarm algorithms without the overhead of building simulations from scratch.