Smooth Transitions Between Trajectory Tracking and Path Following for Single Vehicles and Formations

Trajectory tracking and path following both have their benefits, and depending on the mission of a single vehicle or a formation, one may be more favourable than the other. Path manoeuvring can be seen as a combination of both, and has the potential to combine their benefits. We present a method that makes it possible to smoothly change between trajectory tracking, path manoeuvring, and path following; this can be done before or during a mission. The method is presented for both single vehicles and formations. The theoretically obtained results are supported by simulations.