Coordinated Standoff Tracking of a Moving Target Based on the Lateral Offset

Compared with one single unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), multiple UAV cooperative tracking can detect the target information more comprehensively, estimate the target state more accurately, and improve the efficiency of task completion, thus it has great significance. This paper presents a guidance method that can realize standoff tracking of a stationary target only by relying on ranging sensors. Firstly, we propose a algorithm for a UAV standoff tracking a stationary target which is based on the lateral offset, and analyze its stability. The guidance method can produce stable convergence to a circling limit cycle behavior. Secondly, we modify the guidance law by adding a correction term, which considers the moving speed of the target and can extend the guidance law to track the moving target. Thirdly, combined with the phase separation method, the guidance law is extended to multiple UAVs cooperative tracking the moving target, which proves the stability of the cooperative guidance method. Finally, the numerical simulation results indicate that under the guidance method, the UAVs can track the ground moving target quickly, and its effectiveness and robustness are demonstrated.