Designing a predictive guidance and control system for maneuverable ground moving target tracking in 3D space using a Hexarotor

In this paper, the continuity of tracking a ground moving target using a Hexarotor is considered in the presence of sudden changes in direction, deceptive movements, temporary departure from the field of view (FOV) and changes in the height of the target. In this regard, a hierarchical guidance and control system for target tracking problem in an unknown environment and disturbances is proposed. In the inner loop, a constrained model predictive controller is designed to eliminate the environmental disturbances and also to ensure the stability against the rapid movement of the target considering the constraints on the dynamic of the Hexarotor. In the outer loop of the controller, the ability of the Hexarotor in changing its height helps the Hexarotor to preserve the ground moving target despite the sudden changes in the target direction and its temporal exitance from the field of view. Also, the controller provides an optimized control effort in a situation where the target attempts to reduce the energy level and endurance of the Hexarotor. In order to ensure the performance of the proposed system, the stability of the closed-loop system is guaranteed by defining a final state penalty function. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed controller in ground moving target tracking in the presence of the environmental disturbances, the variation of the target altitude, and the deceptive movement of the target.