Three-dimension path planning and trajectory tracking control for quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle

Path planning of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is to design a reasonable path which satisfies task requirements according to the distribution of terrains and threats. In order to meet three-dimension rapid path planning requirements, a three-dimension path planning method based on artificial potential filed is proposed. Firstly, the virtual force functions of goal and threats are defined, and three-dimension parameter constraint equations are deduced. The concept of combination of threats is proposed by us to deal with the space local minimal problem and the oscillation problem. Secondly, space circle interpolation is introduced to generate the smooth path. Besides, the time domain method for planning the smooth path is employed because it is convenient to UAV path tracking control. Finally, By virtue of global asymptotic stability theory, a closed-loop system that is global Lipschitz is designed, which guarantees the strict overall stability tracking control in the internal and the external loop. Simulations results validate the designed performance of path planning method and tracking control.