Sensors and Navigation Algorithms for Flight Control of Tethered Kites

TL;DR

This paper details the sensor configuration and navigation algorithms for controlling tethered kite flights, highlighting an inertial navigation method validated through experimental data and proposing improvements for future robustness.

Contribution

It introduces a specific inertial navigation algorithm for tethered kite flight control and discusses its implementation, challenges, and potential enhancements.

Findings

Successful operational flights demonstrating the navigation algorithm

Identification of limitations and proposed modifications

Experimental data validating the algorithm's effectiveness

Abstract

We present the sensor setup and the basic navigation algorithm used for the flight control of the SkySails towing kite system. Starting with brief summaries on system setup and equations of motion of the tethered kite system, we subsequently give an overview of the sensor setup, present the navigation task and discuss challenges which have to be mastered. In the second part we introduce in detail the inertial navigation algorithm which has been used for operational flights for years. The functional capability of this algorithm is illustrated by experimental flight data. Finally we suggest a modification of the algorithms as further development step in order to overcome certain limitations.