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Acta Aeronautica et Astronautica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (2): 332083.doi: 10.7527/S1000-6893.2025.32083

• Electronics and Electrical Engineering and Control • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Risk-aware autonomous avoidance for eVTOL

Kang ZHANG1, Xinmin TANG1,2(), Junwei GU1   

  1. 1.College of Civil Aviation,Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics,Nanjing 211106,China
    2.Key Laboratory of Urban Air Traffic System Technology and Equipment,Civil Aviation University of China,Tianjin 300300,China
  • Received:2025-04-07 Revised:2025-05-19 Accepted:2025-07-01 Online:2025-07-21 Published:2025-07-15
  • Contact: Xinmin TANG E-mail:tangxinmin@nuaa.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(52072174);High-Level Foreign Experts Introduction Program of China(G2023202003L);Tianjin Municipal Science and Technology Program(24JCZDJC00090)

Abstract:

In the context of urban air traffic, there is currently no mature solution for real-time avoidance of electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft in dynamic and uncertain environments. To address this challenge, we propose a risk-aware and efficient motion planning method for real-time eVTOL avoidance. The problem is formulated as a Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework with Chance Constraints MPC (CC-MPC), incorporating both collision avoidance and geo-fencing constraints. To efficiently handle the chance constraints, we reformulate them using Big-M and confidence ellipsoids, transforming the CC-MPC problem into a Mixed-Integer Programming (MIP) problem. To efficiently solve the MIP, we employ an iterative convexification-based optimization method, complemented by a global search algorithm that serves as a front-end warm-start mechanism. Finally, all components are integrated within a receding horizon control framework to enable fast and dynamic trajectory generation for eVTOLs. Simulation experiments across various flight scenarios demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Key words: urban air traffic, eVTOL, collision avoidance, chance constraints, motion planning

CLC Number: