Autonomous Guidance of a Circular Parachute Using Descent Rate Control

摘要

A technique was developed to autonomously navigate a'descent vehicle toward a target line using a variable-drag parachute. The method was designed with a simple and inexpensive implementation in mind, such as using a microcontroller with a single actuator to trim the canopy. A three-degree-of-freedom model predicts the descent path of the parachute, and a simple single-parameter control algorithm adjusts the descent rate to guide the vehicle to a linear landing target.