Online trajectory optimization based on successive convex optimization

The traditional trajectory optimization methods are often difficult to achieve the rapid requirements of online planning. Therefore, the convex optimization method is applied to trajectory optimization of a missile to reduce the computational cost in this paper. With the convex optimization theory, the missile nonlinear motion model is firstly convexified based on the small perturbation linearization theory and then discretized using the Euler method, which is then solved by the successive convex optimization method. Simulation results show that the convex optimization technique can greatly reduce the computational time, while yields comparable optimal solutions compared to the well-known Gauss pseudospectral method.