Path Following Guidance Strategy for Autonomous Dynamic Soaring

Dynamic soaring is a flight mode that harvests energy from the vertical gradient of horizontal wind and can be used to increase the endurance and range of unmanned aerial vehicles. Previous studies have mainly focused on trajectory optimization for dynamic soaring, while the problem of following these optimal paths with an autonomous glider has received limited attention. This study proposes a novel guidance strategy that enables precise tracking of an optimal dynamic soaring path on an autonomous glider vehicle. The proposed guidance strategy combines a geometric path-following guidance law with a command projection module specifically designed to address the unique challenges of dynamic soaring, such as the presence of crosswind components and the underactuated nature of glider vehicles. The performance of the proposed guidance strategy is demonstrated through numerical simulations of a 2 m wingspan glider executing dynamic soaring maneuvers in both ridge and surface wind shear layers.