Coordinated guidance and control for multiple parafoil system landing

2025-05-24

AI Summary

To address collision avoidance and real-time control challenges in coordinated landing of multiple unpowered parafoils during large-scale airdrop operations, this paper proposes a system-level integrated guidance and control framework. The method unifies landing-point allocation, collision-avoidance trajectory replanning, nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC), and lightweight kinematic modeling within a holistic trajectory optimization architecture—achieving, for the first time, efficient multi-parafoil cooperative guidance. Innovatively, a kinematics-based trajectory generation strategy with receding-horizon correction is introduced, significantly improving computational efficiency while guaranteeing safety. Simulation results demonstrate collision-free landing throughout the entire descent phase, trajectory tracking position error below 3.5 m, and a 62% reduction in single-trajectory planning time—consistently under 100 ms—thus satisfying stringent onboard real-time requirements.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Planning and Decision Support for Human-Machine Teams
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems
• Multiagent Systems: Coordination and Collaboration

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Experiences and lessons learnt from Web-based algorithms and system deployments
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems
• Responsible Web: Human-perceived consequences of algorithmic deployment on the web

Abstract

Multiple parafoil landing is an enabling technology for massive supply delivery missions. However, it is still an open question to design a collision-free, computation-efficient guidance and control method for unpowered parafoils. To address this issue, this paper proposes a coordinated guidance and control method for multiple parafoil landing. First, the multiple parafoil landing process is formulated as a trajectory optimization problem. Then, the landing point allocation algorithm is designed to assign the landing point to each parafoil. In order to guarantee flight safety, the collision-free trajectory replanning algorithm is designed. On this basis, the nonlinear model predictive control algorithm is adapted to leverage the nonlinear dynamics model for trajectory tracking. Finally, the parafoil kinematic model is utilized to reduce the computational burden of trajectory calculation, and kinematic model is updated by the moving horizon correction algorithm to improve the trajectory accuracy. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and computational efficiency of the proposed coordinated guidance and control method for the multiple parafoil landing.

Problem

• Design collision-free guidance for multiple parafoil landings
• Develop computation-efficient trajectory optimization method
• Ensure flight safety with collision-free replanning algorithm

Innovation

• Trajectory optimization for multiple parafoil landing
• Collision-free trajectory replanning algorithm
• Nonlinear model predictive control for tracking