Prescribed-Time Target Enclosing and Tracking With Motion and Visibility Constraints

This article investigates a prescribed-time method for multiple fixed-wing autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) to enclose and track a moving target based on relative measurements. Utilizing onboard sensors brings two main challenges, i.e., maintaining the target within the field-of-view and tracking a noncooperative target with limited information. To this end, a prescribed-time enclosing and tracking controller is proposed first, guaranteeing that multiple fixed-wing AAVs converge to the desired trajectories within a prescribed time subject to motion and visibility constraints. Then, considering the dilemma of the input saturation and prescribed-time convergence, a basis for selecting the proper prescribed time is analyzed by mathematical formulations. It is determined by different initial states and constraints rather than arbitrarily. Finally, comparison and simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method within a prescribed time.