Loiter UAV Reinsertion Guidance for Fixed-wing UAV Corridors

2026-05-13

AI Summary

This study addresses the challenge of safely reintegrating fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into a structured airspace corridor comprising a main route, a holding racetrack, and connecting transition segments. To this end, the authors propose a virtual-slot-based conflict avoidance mechanism coupled with a real-time re-entry guidance strategy. By jointly accounting for the number of available holding slots, velocity limits, and minimum separation requirements, the method optimizes speed profiles along transition segments to enable efficient, conflict-free merging onto the main route under high-density traffic conditions. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm reliably ensures orderly and safe re-entry for multiple UAVs while strictly adhering to all safety constraints.

Abstract

This paper considers fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) corridors comprising a main lane, a circular loiter lane for managing traffic congestion, and transit lanes connecting the two. In particular, we address the problem of conflict-free reinsertion of UAVs from the loiter lane back into the main lane. The loiter lane contains a fixed number of equidistant virtual slots that UAVs can occupy. Reinsertion of loiter UAVs into the main lane becomes essential either due to reduced traffic in the main lane or due to a loiter UAV needing to reach its destination urgently. Given the total number of loiter slots, UAV speed limits, and the minimum safety distance, a guidance algorithm is developed to compute the required speed of a loiter UAV in the transit lane to ensure safe reinsertion. The proposed guidance and automation strategies are validated through numerical simulations.

Problem

• UAV corridor
• loiter lane
• conflict-free reinsertion
• fixed-wing UAV
• traffic management

Innovation

• UAV corridor
• loiter reinsertion
• virtual slots
• conflict-free guidance
• fixed-wing UAV