Persistent Tracking using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle: A Game Theory Method

Persistent tracking is of vital importance to a broad range of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) missions such that persistent observation and surveillance are indispensable for obtaining uninterrupted measurements of targets of interest. This paper studies the problem of persistent tracking, the goal of which is to design a control strategy for a UAV to keep a moving target in its detection zone, regardless of the target motion. In this paper, persistent tracking problem is formulated in the framework of pursuit-evasion game theory. A bounded and closed region around the UAV in which persistent tracking is feasible is determined rst in this framework. A switching tracking algorithm for the UAV to achieve persistent tracking is then formulated. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed tracking algorithm.