Three Dimensional UAV Path Following Using SDRE Guidance

Path following is an essential requirement for unmanned aerial vehicles. Typically, these paths are in three dimensions and the shape of the paths are application dependent. Mapping applications require stationary paths while moving target tracking with a stand-off distance involves moving reference paths. A path following strategy is required that can be used for stationary and moving path following applications and is robust to wind disturbances. In this paper, we propose an adaptive optimal guidance strategy using State Dependent Ricatti Equation (SDRE) approach. Comparison of the guidance law is ascertained and the approach is evaluated under different wind and target motion conditions. The guidance law shows robust performance up to 10 m/s wind speed and can follow different geometric reference paths.