Vector Field Guidance for Convoy Monitoring Using Elliptical Orbits

TL;DR

This paper introduces a vector field guidance method for aerial agents to monitor convoys by dynamically tracking an ellipse that encloses all targets, ensuring effective surveillance of moving ground convoys.

Contribution

The paper presents a new guidance scheme that computes a time-varying ellipse for convoy tracking and guarantees convergence of the aerial agent to this moving trajectory.

Findings

The scheme successfully tracks convoys along nonlinear paths.

Simulations demonstrate effective convergence and tracking.

Implementation considerations and advantages are discussed.

Abstract

We propose a novel vector field based guidance scheme for tracking and surveillance of a convoy, moving along a possibly nonlinear trajectory on the ground, by an aerial agent. The scheme first computes a time varying ellipse that encompasses all the targets in the convoy using a simple regression based algorithm. It then ensures convergence of the agent to a trajectory that repeatedly traverses this moving ellipse. The scheme is analyzed using perturbation theory of nonlinear differential equations and supporting simulations are provided. Some related implementation issues are discussed and advantages of the scheme are highlighted.