Real-time Constrained Trajectory Generation Applied to a Flight Control Experiment

A computational approach to generate real-time, optimal trajectories for a flight control experiment is presented. Minimum time trajectories are computed for hover-to-hover and forward flight maneuvers. Instantaneous changes in the trajectory constraints that model obstacles and threats are also investigated. Experimental results using the Nonlinear Trajectory Generation software package show good closedloop performance for both maneuvers and in the presence of obstacles. Success of the algorithm demonstrates that high-confidence real-time trajectory generation is achievable in spite of the highly nonlinear and non-convex nature of the problem.