Minimal-Time Trajectories for Interception of Malicious Drones in Constrained Environments

Abstract

This work is motivated by the need to improve existing systems of interception of drones by using other drones. Physical neutralization of malicious drones is recently reaching interest in the field of counter-drone technologies. The exposure time of these threats is a key factor in environments of high population densities such as cities, where the presence of obstacles can complicate the task of persecution and capture of the intruder drone. This paper is therefore focused on the development and optimization of a strategy of tracking and intercepting malicious drones in a scenario with obstacles. A simulation environment is designed in Matlab-Simulink to test and compare traditional interception methods, such as Pure Pursuit which is quite common in missile guidance field, with the proposed strategy. The results show an improvement in the interception strategy by means of a reduction in the time of exposure of the threat with the developed algorithm, even when considering obstacle environment.