Minimum-time Path Convergence for UAVs in Wind Using Vector Field Guidance

We present a novel guidance algorithm for unmanned aircraft to converge to a smooth path optimising time in the presence of wind. A Lyapunov vector field based method is used to achieve convergence and tracking. The proposed framework performs better in comparison with the similar work existing in literature. The presented approach modifies the vector field according to the velocity of the wind, facilitating faster convergence. A customised optimisation algorithm is then used to find a suitable design parameter for vector fields. To demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach, numerical simulations are shown and the results are compared with the optimal time paths obtained using optimal control theory.