Arka Pal
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
May 2022-September 2022 TCS Research and Innovation
In the summer of 2022, I was a research intern at TCS Research and Innovation, Kolkata.
The most interesting part of this project was the development of Lyapunov Vector Fields and verification of the same in simulation. In control theory, Lyapunov Stability criterion is well known for stability analysis of a system without explicitly solving the relevant differential equations. In this project, the process was reversed and a vector field was designed which follows certain criterions which automatically ensures stability. This approach can be used to design docking or rendezvous of a spacecraft to a tumbling and uncooperative target. This is essential either for debris clearance or for fueling. Although there are many other guidance laws present like Model Predictive Control, this approach is computationally less intensive and relevant for on-board small computers in spacecraft.