Journal of Guidance Control and Dynamics· 2026Q1
Occlusion-Aware Ground Target Tracking by a Dubins Vehicle Using Visibility Volumes
- 0citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
A novel method tracks ground targets with an aerial vehicle by inscribing a standoff orbit within a time-varying 3D visibility volume, overcoming urban occlusions.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- A visibility volume (VV) models the 3D sensing constraints of a ground target in an occluded urban environment.
- A constant-altitude, circular standoff orbit is inscribed within the dynamically changing VV centered on the target.
- The time-varying VV is approximated by static VVs using an adaptive metric to limit volume change.
- The standoff orbit is proven feasible for a Dubins vehicle and approximated by piecewise linear interpolation.
- A steering controller drives the aerial vehicle to the time-varying standoff orbit.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
This paper considers the problem of tracking a point of interest (POI) moving along a known trajectory on the ground with an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) modeled as a Dubins vehicle using a line-of-sight sensor through an urban environment that may occlude the POI. A visibility volume (VV) encodes a time-varying, three-dimensional representation of the sensing constraints for a particular POI position. A constant-altitude, translating, and radially time-varying circular standoff orbit is then inscribed within the dynamically changing VV centered at the POI position. The time-varying VV is approximated by placing static VVs along the POI’s trajectory using an adaptive metric that restricts the volume change of consecutive VVs to below a specified rate. The time-varying circular standoff orbit is proven to be feasible for a Dubins vehicle and approximated with a piecewise set of linearly interpolated circular orbits inside the static VVs. A steering controller is derived that drives the UAV to the time-varying standoff orbit. Numerical simulations and a flight test illustrate the proposed approach.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Journal of Guidance Control and Dynamics, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Aerospace Engineering
Aerospace EngineeringEngineering