Real-Time Autonomous Obstacle Avoidance for Fixed-Wing UAVs Using a Dynamic Model
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 33, Issue 4
Abstract
This paper presents an approach for real-time autonomous obstacle avoidance for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for scenarios in which a UAV is required to stay close to a reference path. A key challenge is rapid trajectory generation around obstacles while accommodating vehicle constraints. A UAV model with nonlinear dynamic constraints provides more natural accommodation of the vehicle’s constraints than a kinematic model with linear constraints. This paper presents a method for using finite horizon model predictive control with a custom solver that offers low solution time. A comparative study of a high-fidelity model and a lower-fidelity counterpart is presented. Using the proposed method, the high-fidelity model provides better trajectories than the lower-fidelity counterpart, despite both having low computational requirement for onboard trajectory generation in an embedded platform.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through a Discovery Grant (Grant No. RGPIN-2016-03923) and Collaborative Research and Development Grant (Grant No. CRDPJ 507797-16).
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 33 • Issue 4 • July 2020
Copyright
©2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 16, 2019
Accepted: Jan 3, 2020
Published online: Apr 2, 2020
Published in print: Jul 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Sep 2, 2020
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