A time-optimal trajectory generation algorithm for quadrotor landing onto a moving platform

In this paper, we propose a time-optimal trajectory generation algorithm for landing a 3-DOF (x-z and tilt) quadrotor model onto a moving platform. The algorithm exploits the differential flatness of the quadrotor dynamics model and formulates a nonlinear programming problem, which is then solved to obtain the time-optimal landing trajectory. The advantages of the proposed algorithm over stateof-the-art solution techniques for time-optimal trajectory design include computational efficiency and the ability to incorporate dynamics and state constraints (such as collision avoidance from an obstacle) into the optimization problem. Simulation results and comparisons with a benchmark algorithm show the effectiveness of the proposed method.