Multiscale Path Optimization for the Reduced Environmental Impact of Air Transportation

Recent research has stressed the importance of understanding the impact of air transportation on the environment. The environmental impact of aviation comes from many different sources, which occur on different spatial and temporal scales. The objective of this work is to develop a path-planning strategy that generates an optimal trajectory in a multiscale environment such that fuel consumption and persistent contrail formation are minimized. A receding-horizon controller is constructed to adapt to diverse and evolving obstacles while maintaining tractability in an onboard operation. The multiscale control strategy is shown to perform better than a controller designed with respect to a single scale.