A Computationally Efficient Approach to Trajectory Management for Coordinated Aerial Surveillance

Abstract

Time optimal path planning and trajectory management algorithms for air vehicles with limited on-board computing resources require an efficient approach to satisfy flight dynamic constraints needed to guarantee paths are feasible. B-spline curves enable compact definition of feasible airplane trajectories that are suited for on-board real-time computation. The design of a trajectory definition and management algorithm suited for a multi-agent persistent surveillance application is described. The proposed solution post-processes the output of a point-by-point path planner and converts it into a minimal representation. Key design requirements include minimization of mission execution time, ability to seamlessly redirect agents based on information acquired by sensor feedback, and robust adherence to mission and vehicle motion constraints. A simple coordinated aerial surveillance scenario is described and demonstrated using the algorithms presented.