Performance analysis of a preview-control-based terrain-following approach

In this paper we address the performance evaluation of a preview-control laser-range-finder based terrain following system installed on fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles. The paper begins by outlining and mathematically modelling the proposed terrain following approach. This is followed by designing the preview control law used to drive the trajectory tracking component. The performance of such systems is affected by the three main error sources: the stochastic nature of the unknown terrain profile, the pointing angle error of the sensors, and the navigational errors of the aircraft. In the paper we employ an analytical error propagation model to evaluate the overall terrain following performance of the suggested system. This includes quantifying the tracking error, assessing the affect of the sensor installation angle on the performance for two different scenarios, and non-dimensional parametric analysis. The paper concludes by outlining design insights as well as a demonstration of a design example. The performance analysis results and design insights allow for more effective methods of designing such systems.