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Trajectory Generation for Aerial Multicopters

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Encyclopedia of Systems and Control

Abstract

The ability to generate feasible and safe trajectories is crucial for autonomous multicopter systems. These trajectories can ideally be generated on low-cost, embedded computational hardware and exploit the system’s full dynamic capabilities while satisfying constraints. As operations increasingly focus on operation at high speeds, or in dynamically changing environments, strategies are required that can rapidly plan and replan trajectories. This entry reviews typical approaches for trajectory generation of aerial robots, with a focus on multicopters, and discusses various approximations that may be used to make the problem more tractable. The strategy of planning in higher derivatives of the vehicle position (such as acceleration, jerk, and snap) is discussed in depth. We also discuss the related issue of expressing system limitations and constraints in these derivatives. Finally, possible future directions are discussed.

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Correspondence to Mark W. Mueller .

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Mueller, M.W., D’Andrea, R. (2020). Trajectory Generation for Aerial Multicopters. In: Baillieul, J., Samad, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Systems and Control. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5102-9_100037-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-5102-9_100037-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-5102-9

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