Abstract
This paper presents a control strategy based on dual quaternions for the coordinated formation flying of small UAV groups. A virtual structure is employed to define the desired formation, enabling unified control of its position, orientation, and shape. This abstraction makes formation management easier by allowing a low-level controller to compute individual UAV commands efficiently. The proposed controller integrates a pose control module with a geometry-based adaptive strategy, ensuring precise and robust task execution. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated through both simulation and experimental results.