Optimal Path Planning and Control of Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Urban Environments

摘要

This paper introduces a new approach to the onboard command and control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) with particular focus on optimal path planning in obstacle-rich environments. The proposed concept, based on optimal control techniques and pseudospectral methods, offers the improved system flexibility and autonomy demanded by UAV tactical missions in urban areas. As demonstrated, optimal control methods permit the optimization of maneuver parameters while accounting for vehicle kinematics and workspace obstacles, represented as dynamic and path constraints respectively. Departing from traditional techniques that harbor non-optimal architectures, the employed method facilitates real-time, onboard computations that consequently improve overall system performance.