Robust Look-ahead Pursuit Control for Three-Dimensional Path Following within Finite-Time Stability Guarantee

Abstract: This paper addresses the challenging problem of robust path following for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in complex environments with bounded external disturbances and non-smooth predefined paths. Due to the unique aerodynamic characteristics and flight constraints of fixed-wing UAVs, achieving accurate and stable path following remains difficult, especially in low-altitude mountainous terrains, urban landscapes, and under wind disturbances. Traditional path-following guidance laws often struggle with rapid stabilization and constrained input commands under unknown disturbances while maintaining robustness. To overcome these limitations, we propose a robust nonlinear path-following guidance law that considers the flight path angle and track angle, and dynamically adjusts controller parameters to achieve optimal compensation for acceleration increments. The proposed guidance law guarantees finite-time stability, reduced sensitivity to constrained uncertainties, and consistent behavior compared to traditional asymptotic convergence controllers. Additionally, it ensures that the UAV approaches mobile virtual target points in the shortest possible time while adhering to input constrained conditions. Our contributions include a thorough analysis of the conditions for robust stability, the derivation of the guidance law, and simulations demonstrating its effectiveness. The results show that the proposed guidance law significantly improves path-following performance under external disturbances, making it a promising solution for autonomous missions execution of fixed-wing UAVs.