Motion planning method and system for aircraft, in particular for load-carrying and/or people-carrying vtol aircraft

Abstract

A motion planning method and system for aircraft, in particular for separately electrically driven, load-carrying and/or people-carrying multicopters, includes: a motion preliminary planning unit that executes a preliminary planning algorithm using a computer on the ground or on board an aircraft in question, by which algorithm a reference trajectory, emergency trajectories are determined at intervals along the reference trajectory and confidence intervals are determined along the reference trajectory, which confidence intervals specify a spatial volume in which to maneuver without a pre-planned path but that the aircraft can't leave or is able to leave only at predefined locations; a data store in which parameters of the reference trajectory, parameters of the confidence intervals and parameters regarding a permissible deviation of the aircraft from the reference trajectory are stored on the aircraft according to instructions of the motion preliminary planning unit; a real-time control unit on the aircraft for the real-time motion planning using the parameters and the confidence intervals and using system data of the aircraft recorded by sensors; and an actuation apparatus that actuates flight control/regulation apparatuses of the aircraft using control/regulation signals derived from the real-time motion planning, wherein the flight control/regulation apparatuses of the aircraft are actuatable such that the aircraft is moved or is able to be moved either a) along the reference trajectory or b) along a real-time trajectory within a confidence interval or along an emergency trajectory with a given or required deviation from the reference trajectory.