Pradeep J

Pradeep J, Siddhardha Kedarisetty, Ashwini Ratnoo

This paper addresses the problem of traffic congestion management in fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) corridors by further developing a recently introduced loiter-lane framework. A semi-cooperative guidance strategy is developed for inserting fixed-wing UAVs into a loiter lane with minimal disruption to the UAVs already operating within it, while enabling a more compact fixed-wing UAV corridor. Building on the concepts of cooperative and non-disruptive loiter-lane insertion, the proposed strategy makes the incoming UAV first attempt, within its speed bounds, to rendezvous with an existing empty loiter slot. If direct insertion is infeasible, a minimal number of loitering UAVs perform coordinated slot hopping to create a suitably positioned empty slot. The feasibility and performance of the method are demonstrated through numerical simulations.

Pradeep J, Kedarisetty Siddhardha, Ashwini Ratnoo

This paper considers fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) corridors comprising a main lane, a circular loiter lane for managing traffic congestion, and transit lanes connecting the two. In particular, we address the problem of conflict-free reinsertion of UAVs from the loiter lane back into the main lane. The loiter lane contains a fixed number of equidistant virtual slots that UAVs can occupy. Reinsertion of loiter UAVs into the main lane becomes essential either due to reduced traffic in the main lane or due to a loiter UAV needing to reach its destination urgently. Given the total number of loiter slots, UAV speed limits, and the minimum safety distance, a guidance algorithm is developed to compute the required speed of a loiter UAV in the transit lane to ensure safe reinsertion. The proposed guidance and automation strategies are validated through numerical simulations.