Fast optimal trajectory generation for a tiltwing VTOL aircraft with application to urban air mobility

TL;DR

This paper introduces a convex optimization-based method for rapid, optimal trajectory planning of tiltwing VTOL aircraft during transition phases, enhancing safety and efficiency for urban air mobility applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel convex optimization approach that simplifies the nonlinear trajectory planning problem for tiltwing VTOLs, enabling fast and safe transition trajectories.

Findings

Successfully applied to Airbus A3 Vahana VTOL case study

Enables real-time trajectory generation for transition phases

Provides safe and optimal transition paths

Abstract

We solve the minimum-thrust optimal trajectory generation problem for the transition of a tiltwing Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft using convex optimisation. The method is based on a change of differential operator that allows us to express the simplified point-mass dynamics along a prescribed path and formulate the original nonlinear problem in terms of a pair of convex programs. A case study involving the Airbus A3 Vahana VTOL aircraft is considered for forward and backward transitions. The presented approach provides a fast method to generate a safe optimal transition for a tiltwing VTOL aircraft that can further be leveraged online for control, and guidance purposes.