Trajectory Tracking for Autonomous Vehicles: An Integrated Approach to Guidance and Control

Abstract

Abstract. This paper addresses the problem of in- tegrated design of guidance and control systems for au- tonomous vehicles (AVs). In fact, it introduces a new methodology for integrated design of guidance and control for such vehicles. The methodology proposed leads to an efficient procedure for the design of controllers for AVs to accurately track reference trajectories defined in an iner- tia! reference frame. The paper illustrates the application of this procedure on the design of a tracking controller for the Unmanned Air Vehicle Bluebird. The design phase is summarized, and the performance of the resulting con- troller is assessed in simulation using dynamic models of the vehicle and its sensor suite.