Numerical Approach to Maneuver Design and Feasibility Evaluation for the Autonomy of Airship

Maneuver design is a vital prerequisite for autonomy in aerospace guidance and control. It ensures system safety by analyzing the feasibility of the proposed maneuvers. This paper demonstrates a holistic approach to maneuver design by emphasizing its feasibility with consideration on the complete dynamics of the system and its constraints. Computational bifurcation analysis is employed to generate a sequence of trim solutions based on specified state and control constraints that define a stipulated maneuver. Implementing this approach on a stratospheric airship model helps attempt a few of its challenging and interesting facets like autonomous hovering, ascending, and descending by gauging its performance and formulating realistic maneuvers pertaining to the imposed limitations on the lateral excursion, control, and state constraints. The effectiveness of the proposed maneuvers is then evaluated using numerical simulations with computed control schedules in an open-loop.