Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Path Following for Target Observation in Wind

This work provides flight-path geometry, guidance laws, and synchronous camera angles to observe a ground target from an unmanned aerial vehicle. The observation of the target is affected by wind, aircraft performance, and camera limits. Analytic expressions are derived for paths that result in constant line-of-sight orientation of the target relative to the aircraft body frame. Using minimal heuristics, a guidance law based on “good helmsman” behavior is developed and implemented, and stability of its integration with aircraft dynamics is assessed. An observer estimates wind data, which are used to orient path geometry about the target. Results are demonstrated in high-fidelity simulation. Nomenclature a = helmsman sensitivity parameter c(·) = cos(·) d = distance Fb = body-fixed frame Fs = Serret‐Frenet frame g = gravity constant r = radius s = arclength position along desired path s(·) = sin(·) t(·) = tan(·)