Motion control for UAV-UGV cooperation with visibility constraint

The subject of this paper is a cooperative scenario where an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) assists an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) to achieve a higher level task. We assume that the UAV detects the UGV within a certain range with a vision sensor. While satisfying this constraint, the UAV can provide relative information about any events of interest in its field of view. The focus is on the motion control of the UAV relative to the UGV. To this end, we present a new control law that combines an extended dynamic coverage strategy with a tracking controller. Different weighting functions to combine the controllers are evaluated. The results are further compared with a second motion strategy introduced for this purpose. Both control laws guarantee that the UAV will maintain visual contact while making use of available mobility as much as possible, allowing the UAV to gather more information and act as an anticipatory element.