Rotorcraft shipboard landing is one of the most challenging operations for rotorcraft pilots owing to the workload associated with the task, which can be attributed to a variety of environmental conditions like random ship motion, heavy sea states and unsteady aerodynamic conditions. This paper explores the effectiveness of Model Predictive Path Integral (MPPI) approach, a stochastic optimal control method, for parallel trajectory optimization as a guidance solution to the rotorcraft shipboard landing problem. Specifically, the computational efficiency for real time guidance solutions afforded by the MPPI approach in comparison to its sequential counterpart is evaluated. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis of MPPI parameter selection on its performance is carried out. The performance of the developed MPPI algorithms for real time guidance in helicopter ship board landing is demonstrated using nonlinear model simulations of a helicopter executing a symmetric landing profile aligned with the ship deck centerline.
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