Decentralised navigation and collision avoidance for aircraft in 3D space

We present an algorithm for the distributed navigation of nonholonomic aircraft-like agents in 3D space. The proposed control scheme offers improved applicability for aircraft navigation and compatibility with ATC practice wrt previous work. The algorithm maintains a desired horizontal velocity, while limiting the climb or descent angle within predefined bounds. Moreover, it is designed to favor straight and level flight, yielding more sensible manoeuvres that require reduced steering effort. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the approach.