Path generation and tracking in 3-D for UAVs

In this brief, we consider the problem of 3-D path generation and tracking for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The proposed path generation algorithm allows us to find a path satisfying arbitrary initial and final conditions, specified in terms of position and velocity. Our method assumes that aircraft structural and dynamic limitations can be translated in a turn radius constraint; therefore, the generated paths satisfy a constraint on the minimum admissible turning radius. The proposed algorithm for the path tracking guarantees, under specified assumptions, that the tracking error, both in position and in attitude, asymptotically tends to zero. The work has been carried out with reference to the UAV of the Italian Aerospace Research Center (CIRA). Simulation results for both the path generation and the tracking algorithms are presented; the latter have been obtained using a detailed 6-degree-of-freedom model of the CIRA UAV in the presence of wind and turbulence. © 2009 IEEE.