Waypoint Generation Based on Sensor Aimpoint
Shannon M. Farrell · 2012
AFIT/GAE/ENV/09-M01 Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates has emphasized a need for a greater number of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets to support combatant com-manders and military operations globally. Unmanned systems, especially MAVs, used as ISR platforms provide the ability to maintain covertness during missions and help reduce the risk to human life. This research develops waypoint generation algorithms required to keep a point of interest (POI) in the field of view (FOV) of a fixed sensor on a micro air vehicle (MAV) in the presence of a constant wind. Fixed sensors, while cheaper and less prone to mechanical failure than gimbaled sensors, provide challenges to keeping a POI in the FOV in the presence of wind since the MAV must adjust its attitude to maintain a desired flight path. As the vehicle adjusts its attitude, the POI may shift outside of the FOV. Wind affects MAVs more than other air vehicles because wind speeds can quickly approach the slow cruise speed of the vehicle. This research builds upon previous work of maintaining a sensor aimpoint at a POI