Design and Flight Test of Autonomous Landing Approach Algorithm for UAV

Abstract

This paper presents an algorithm for autonomous landing approach of a unmanned aerial vehicle. The main purpose of the autonomous landing approach in this study is to help a safe landing at night. From any initial position of the aircraft when this function is engaged, a flight path command is generated from the initial position. The shortest combination of an initial circular arc, a straight line segment, and a final circular arc is chosen for the flight path that will lead the aircraft to one end of runway for a landing. The algorithm is initially validated through numerous simulations with various initial conditions of aircraft. Then it is successfully validated through a number of flight tests.