Dynamic control of multiple stratospheric airships in time-varying wind fields for communication coverage missions

Stratospheric airships are ideal platforms for coverage missions, especially those involving communication relay tasks, owing to their unique flight altitude and long-duration station-keeping capabilities. However, their performance affected significantly by wind conditions. This paper addresses the challenge of communication coverage for multiple stratospheric airship (MSA) systems in time-varying wind fields. To solve the resulting non-convex distributed optimization problem, we propose a novel dynamic coverage control approach based on a weighted virtual guidance field (WVGF) framework, which incorporates multiple coupled constraints such as communication connectivity and boundary limits. By designing a virtual wind potential field, the method enables MSAs to avoid strong-wind areas dynamically, reducing the maximum wind resistance by up to 19.12% while maintaining comprehensive ground coverage. We also develop a virtual control law to handle the nonlinear dynamics and low mobility of MSAs, thereby facilitating robust coverage control. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness and robustness of the approach, highlighting its potential for broader applications with MSA systems. Comparative experiments further show that the proposed method achieves faster convergence and higher computational efficiency than the Voronoi-based approach.