A Torus Based Three Dimensional Motion Planning Model for Very Maneuverable Micro Air Vehicles
Ryan Hurley, Richard C. Lind, Joseph Kehoe · 2012
Micro Air Vehicles are highly maneuverable aircraft that possess the ability to fly in modes that conventional manned aircraft cannot attain. Advancements in the miniaturization of guidance, navigation, and control hardware have opened up the world of autonomous flight for unmanned air systems of all types. The melding of these two topics, MAVs and Autonomy, has been the focus of a great deal of research. Many have utilized the Dubins Car, an optimal 2-dimensional path, as the basis for their 3-dimensional path generation. This paper introduces a novel approach to the 3-dimensional path generation problem. Consideration of the flight regime of the MAV opens up maneuvers that the vehicle can perform such that it can orient itself for travel to locations outside the ability of conventional aircraft. The path generation theory is presented and utilized in a larger motion planning algorithm that produces flight through an obstacle rich environment.