Aerial Rendezvous of Small Unmanned Aircraft Using a Passive Towed Cable System

作者:Nichols Joseph W*; Sun Liang; Beard Randal W; McLain Timothy
来源:Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 2014, 37(4): 1131-1142.
DOI:10.2514/1.62220

摘要

A method for aerial rendezvous of small unmanned aircraft systems is proposed. The system includes placing a passively towed drogue into an orbit that is suitable for a small unmanned aircraft systems to follow, and a seeker guidance method for use with a monocular camera mounted on the centerline of the unmanned aircraft systems. The principle contributions of the work include a method for controlling the drogue path in moderate winds by manipulating the mothership orbit and airspeed, and a vision-based nonlinear pursuit tracking method that uses pitch rate and roll commands to guide the unmanned aircraft systems to an aerial rendezvous with the drogue. Simulation and flight-test results are presented to demonstrate the suitability of these methods.

  • 出版日期2014-8