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.
Aerial Rendezvous of Small Unmanned Aircraft Using a Passive Towed Cable System
Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics ; 37 , 4 ; 1131-1142
2014-03-21
12 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Aerial Rendezvous of Small Unmanned Aircraft Using a Passive Towed Cable System
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