Steering for beacon pursuit under limited sensing

In this paper we investigate a model of two agents (self-steering particles) engaged in a dyadic interaction, with one pursuing the other using a constant bearing strategy. The pursued agent is controlled independently. Analysis of this interaction shows that the dynamics on the joint state space of the two agents restricts to an invariant manifold in shape space, and shares certain features in common with the Kepler problem. This model is applied to the task of tracking a stationary beacon with the practical constraint of using a sensor with a limited field of view (FOV). An effective solution to this problem is derived using the preceding analysis, and demonstrated in a laboratory implementation on a robot equipped with a Kinect vision sensor. Essential to this solution is the augmentation of the pursuit strategy (and associated feedback law) by an odometry-driven estimator when the beacon falls outside of the FOV.