Suboptimal Guidance of UAVs Satisfying Multiple Constraints on Waypoints

Using the recently-developed computationally efficient model predictive static programming (MPSP) guidance law is presented in this paper for UAVs satisfying multiple constraints on several way points. The guidance law is primarily based on nonlinear optimal control theory and hence imbed effective trajectory optimization concepts into the guidance laws. Apart from being energy efficient by minimizing the control usage throughout the trajectory (minimum control usage leads to minimum turning and hence leads to minimum induced drag), this law enforce desired waypoint constraints of path angle and waypoint position in ‘hard constraint’ sense. The computational requirement by the MPSP guidance is small, because the solution given by MPSP is in close form; hence the energy optimal trajectory passing through all the waypoints can be generated in real time.