Nonlinear IBVS controller for the flare maneuver of fixed-wing aircraft using optical flow

This paper describes a nonlinear Image-Based Visual Servo (IBVS) controller for the Flare phase of the landing maneuver of a fixed-wing aircraft in the presence of wind gust. Optic-Flow and 2D image features are exploited from the image of the runway to design a feedback controller for the automatic maneuver. The controller is divided into two parts. The first part guarantees the horizontal alignment with the center of the runway and uses the two lines delimiting the runway represented through a modification of the so-called Plücker coordinates. The second part takes advantage of the Optic-Flow measurements to ensure a smooth touchdown. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the performance of the control approach.