Waypoint-Based Trajectory Planning of Fixed-Wing MAVs in 3D Space

Abstract

The paper addresses the problem of trajectory generation of a fixed-wing miniature aerial vehicle (MAV), constrained by a bounded turn rate, which is required to fly along a path defined by a series of waypoints in three-dimensional space. The generated trajectory named as γ-trajectory, transits between two consecutive waypoint segments in a "smooth" manner. For this trajectory the shortest distance from the waypoint can also be set to a desired value based on the limited capacity of the sensor mounted on the MAV. Subsequently, a loop-trajectory is generated, which is important if the vehicle is required to track the entire waypoint segments as well as the waypoints. Since the trajectory is composed of circles of minimum turn radius and straight lines, this is computationally fast and real-time implementable. Finally, the implementation of generated trajectory is illustrated in an environment cluttered with obstacles and several aspects of the generated trajectory are compared with those of the trajectories obtained using techniques available in the literature.

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