Effects of Intercept Point Placement On Clothoid Path Recovery Time After Collision Avoidance
Travis W. Moleski, Theodore Tuttle, Jay Paul Wilhelm · AIAA SCITECH 2023 Forum · 2023
View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2023-2671.vid Uncrewed vehicles require recovery routes to return autonomously to a mission after collision avoidance. The leading techniques for crewed aircraft such as ACAS do not directly translate to the explicit path definitions required for autonomous systems. Processes for automated route recovery such as the Path Recovery Automated Collision Avoidance System (PRACAS) are capable of returning a vehicle to an original mission, but has only been investigated for straight paths and the effects of interception point placement on recovery time has not been identified. Minimal deviation and recovery time is desired for maximum time and coverage in continuous monitoring tasks while ensuring safe operation in known airspace. The present work investigated the effects of intercept point placement on return time to mission routes in three simulation environments including a straight path, holding pattern, and a path generated from an exponential function to explore performance in common and curved paths and identified the first viable interception point. Clothoid return using the first viable interception point generated more cross track error and time to recover compared to non-linear guidance and pure pursuit, but had control on vehicle heading at path acquisition for smoother path following after interception. The general trend was that interception points for clothoid return farther along a path generated more cross track error and recover time, but had tighter control on acquisition heading. Impact of this work is an investigation of curved path interception within the PRACAS process to identify the first viable point meeting fixed wing turn rate limits to minimize path deviation so time spent in the desired operating region can be maximized where only straight paths had been previously considered.