A Predictive Path-Following Approach for Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Presence of Wind Disturbances

In this paper we address the path-following problem for fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in presence of wind disturbances. Given a desired path with a specified airspeed profile assigned on it, the goal is to follow the desired maneuver while minimizing the control effort. We propose a predictive path following control scheme based on trajectory optimization techniques, to compute feasible UAV trajectories, combined with a sample-data Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach, to handle the wind field. By explicitly addressing the wind field, the UAV exploits the surrounding environment thus extending its capabilities in executing the desired maneuver. We provide numerical computations based on straight line and circular paths under various wind conditions. The computations allow us to highlight the benefits of the proposed control scheme.