Terrain Following Control Based on an Optimized Spline Model of Aircraft Motion

Abstract
The major portion of the computational processing of information in an aircraft terrain following system is optimized in order to provide the best commands to the longitudinal flight-control system based on available terrain data. Previous terrain-following processors have not optimized the flight path subject to all of the practical constraints. The scheme presented incorporates all of the major constraints into an optimization problem that can be solved to provide a reference path for the aircraft to follow. The optimal reference path satisfied two important requirements: (1) it stays as close to the terrain as possible while satisfying a minimum clearance constraint and the specified acceleration limits, and (2) it is a smooth path that the aircraft can follow extremely well by a very simple tracking system. The optimization problem is either a quadratic or linear programming problem, depending upon the specific closeness performance criterion chosen. It appears that it can be solved in real time, even for a very high speed missile, by an airborne digital computer when accurate vehicle state and terrain information are available. The optimal solutions to the problem can also be used as 'ideal' paths to provide standards for evaluating other types of terrain following systems.

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