Abstract:

A guidance law of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying in environment where unknown obstacle can be encountered is proposed. The guidance law is adapted from the reference point guidance (RPG) method, which has been widely used in path following. The analysis of relative motion between UAV and obstacle is extended to give the substratum for avoidance opportunities and reference points selection. On the basis of modeling the avoidance process by nonlinear differential equations, the foundation for parameter selection is established by analyzing the impacts of the parameters on the system performance. Simulations showed that the UAV could avoid pop up/unknown obstacles with irregular geometrical shape safely under the guidance of modified RPG, and could refrain from the danger during the switch of guidance law for different mission.