Vector field guidance for standoff target tracking

Abstract

This work presents a guidance algorithm for standoff target tracking by unmanned aerial vehicles using the traditional Lyapunov guidance vector field framework. Unlike the past work, this guidance law is the function of the minimum radius of curvature, and, hence, it can act more flexibly for different maneuverable vehicles. Moreover, normalized even and odd functions are proposed here as circulation and convergence terms to improve performance in terms of optimality. The presence of wind is also considered for real world applications. As the proposed guidance law generates paths of continuous curvature, the designed path is flyable by fixed-wing unmanned vehicles. Simulation results are presented to validate the proposed guidance law.