Online Trajectory Generation with Rendezvous for UAVs Using Multistage Path Prediction
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 30, Issue 3
Abstract
To improve the overall performance of mission planning for the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a multistage path prediction (MPP) for trajectory generation with rendezvous is addressed in this paper. The proposed real-time algorithm consists of four stages: path estimation, path planning, flyable trajectory generation, and trajectory modification for rendezvous. In every planning horizon, each UAV utilizes the local algorithm to estimate all probable paths and then the results serve as input for the task assignment system. A simple assignment algorithm is briefly introduced to validate the effectiveness of MPP. Based on the assignment, the polygonal paths are further obtained by using the global algorithm. Then these paths are smoothed to be flyable by using the cubic -spline curve. In the last stage, the trajectories are modified for rendezvous of the UAVs to execute specific many-to-one tasks. Results of different stages are continuously revised and delivered to the task assignment system as feedback in the whole mission process. Numerical results demonstrate the performance of the proposed approach for stochastic scenarios.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 30 • Issue 3 • May 2017
Copyright
©2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 5, 2015
Accepted: Aug 3, 2016
Published online: Oct 27, 2016
Discussion open until: Mar 27, 2017
Published in print: May 1, 2017
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