Wind-optimal path planning: Application to aircraft trajectories

In this paper, an algorithm to plan a continuous wind-optimal path is proposed, and simulations are made for aircraft trajectories. We consider a mobile which can move in a two dimensional space. The mobile is controlled only by the heading direction, the speed of the mobile is assumed to be constant. The objective is to plan the optimal path avoiding obstacles and taking into account wind currents. The algorithm is based on Ordered Upwind Method which gives an optimality proof for the solution. The algorithm is then extended to spherical coordinates in order to be able to handle long paths.