Optimal Path Planning for SUAS Target Observation through Constrained Urban Environments using Simplex Methods

The work herein determines the optimal flight path for a Small Unmanned Aircraft System through a constrained urban environment while minimizing the flight through keep-out regions and ending on a defined orbit around a target of interest. Direct orthogonal collocation methods are combined with fast geometric path planning techniques where a triangulated mesh is used to produce a hybrid control routine resulting in optimal flight paths through a defined triangulated channel. Physical constraints are eliminated from the non-linear program search space, while keep-out regions are modeled within the objective function of the optimal control problem and avoided according to a weighted distribution of the objective components. A scenario is presented for a SUAS to advance at constant altitude through city building constraints while minimizing time in unavoidable keep-out regions. The path terminates outside the triangulated channel on an orbit, encircling the target location. Results illustrate path constraints designed in the objective functional within the construct of a triangulated mesh and the implications that result.