Loiter UAV Reinsertion Guidance for Fixed-wing UAV Corridors
2026-05-13 • Robotics
Robotics
AI summaryⓘ
The authors study how drones flying in fixed paths can move safely from a holding circle (loiter lane) back into the main flight path (main lane) without crashing. They divide the holding circle into set spots drones can wait in and create a method to decide how fast a drone should fly when moving back to the main lane. Their method ensures drones keep a safe distance from others while rejoining the main path. They tested their approach using computer simulations to show it works.
UAV corridorsfixed-wing UAVloiter lanemain lanetransit lanetraffic congestionconflict-free reinsertionguidance algorithmsafety distancenumerical simulations
Authors
Pradeep J, Kedarisetty Siddhardha, Ashwini Ratnoo
Abstract
This paper considers fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) corridors comprising a main lane, a circular loiter lane for managing traffic congestion, and transit lanes connecting the two. In particular, we address the problem of conflict-free reinsertion of UAVs from the loiter lane back into the main lane. The loiter lane contains a fixed number of equidistant virtual slots that UAVs can occupy. Reinsertion of loiter UAVs into the main lane becomes essential either due to reduced traffic in the main lane or due to a loiter UAV needing to reach its destination urgently. Given the total number of loiter slots, UAV speed limits, and the minimum safety distance, a guidance algorithm is developed to compute the required speed of a loiter UAV in the transit lane to ensure safe reinsertion. The proposed guidance and automation strategies are validated through numerical simulations.