Optimal transition trajectory for waypoint following

Abstract

This paper discusses the problem of a turn-rate constrained vehicle, such as a fixed-wing MAV (miniature air vehicle) required to fly along the path defined by a series of waypoints. An extremal path, named as γ-trajectory, that transitions between two consecutive waypoint segments (obtained by joining two waypoints in sequence) in a timeoptimal fashion, is obtained. This algorithm is also used to track the maximum portion of waypoint segments with the desired shortest distance between the trajectory and the associated waypoint. Subsequently, the proposed trajectory is compared with existing transition trajectory in the literature to show better performance in several aspects.