Target Approaching Control Under a GPS-Denied Environment with Range-Only Measurements

In this paper, we investigate the target-approaching control problem for a discrete-time first-order vehicle system where the target area is modeled as a static circular region. In the absence of absolute bearing or position information, we propose a simple local controller that relies solely on ran...

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Main Authors: Bin Chen, Zhenghao Jing, Yinke Dou, Yan Chen, Liwei Kou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Sensors
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4497
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author Bin Chen
Zhenghao Jing
Yinke Dou
Yan Chen
Liwei Kou
author_facet Bin Chen
Zhenghao Jing
Yinke Dou
Yan Chen
Liwei Kou
author_sort Bin Chen
collection DOAJ
description In this paper, we investigate the target-approaching control problem for a discrete-time first-order vehicle system where the target area is modeled as a static circular region. In the absence of absolute bearing or position information, we propose a simple local controller that relies solely on range measurements to the target obtained at two consecutive sampling instants. Specifically, if the measured distance decreases between two successive samples, the vehicle maintains a constant velocity; otherwise, it rotates its velocity vector by an angle of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>π</mi><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> in the clockwise direction. This control strategy guarantees convergence to the target region, ensuring that the vehicle’s velocity direction remains unchanged in the best-case scenario and is adjusted at most three times in the worst case. The effectiveness of the proposed method is theoretically established and further validated through outdoor experiments with a mobile vehicle.
format Article
id doaj-art-5d92c8c1b7c34cd0b671e78b759aae76
institution Kabale University
issn 1424-8220
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Sensors
spelling doaj-art-5d92c8c1b7c34cd0b671e78b759aae762025-08-20T03:32:16ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-07-012514449710.3390/s25144497Target Approaching Control Under a GPS-Denied Environment with Range-Only MeasurementsBin Chen0Zhenghao Jing1Yinke Dou2Yan Chen3Liwei Kou4College of Electrical and Power Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaCollege of Mechanical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaCollege of Electrical and Power Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaCollege of Electrical and Power Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaCollege of Electrical and Power Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, ChinaIn this paper, we investigate the target-approaching control problem for a discrete-time first-order vehicle system where the target area is modeled as a static circular region. In the absence of absolute bearing or position information, we propose a simple local controller that relies solely on range measurements to the target obtained at two consecutive sampling instants. Specifically, if the measured distance decreases between two successive samples, the vehicle maintains a constant velocity; otherwise, it rotates its velocity vector by an angle of <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>π</mi><mo>/</mo><mn>2</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> in the clockwise direction. This control strategy guarantees convergence to the target region, ensuring that the vehicle’s velocity direction remains unchanged in the best-case scenario and is adjusted at most three times in the worst case. The effectiveness of the proposed method is theoretically established and further validated through outdoor experiments with a mobile vehicle.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4497localizationtarget approaching controldistance measurements
spellingShingle Bin Chen
Zhenghao Jing
Yinke Dou
Yan Chen
Liwei Kou
Target Approaching Control Under a GPS-Denied Environment with Range-Only Measurements
Sensors
localization
target approaching control
distance measurements
title Target Approaching Control Under a GPS-Denied Environment with Range-Only Measurements
title_full Target Approaching Control Under a GPS-Denied Environment with Range-Only Measurements
title_fullStr Target Approaching Control Under a GPS-Denied Environment with Range-Only Measurements
title_full_unstemmed Target Approaching Control Under a GPS-Denied Environment with Range-Only Measurements
title_short Target Approaching Control Under a GPS-Denied Environment with Range-Only Measurements
title_sort target approaching control under a gps denied environment with range only measurements
topic localization
target approaching control
distance measurements
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/14/4497
work_keys_str_mv AT binchen targetapproachingcontrolunderagpsdeniedenvironmentwithrangeonlymeasurements
AT zhenghaojing targetapproachingcontrolunderagpsdeniedenvironmentwithrangeonlymeasurements
AT yinkedou targetapproachingcontrolunderagpsdeniedenvironmentwithrangeonlymeasurements
AT yanchen targetapproachingcontrolunderagpsdeniedenvironmentwithrangeonlymeasurements
AT liweikou targetapproachingcontrolunderagpsdeniedenvironmentwithrangeonlymeasurements