SQuAT Plan: Smooth Quadrotor Agile Trajectory Planning

SQuAT Plan is a Python-based framework for agile trajectory planning of quadrotors navigating through complex environments. It integrates nonlinear optimization (via GEKKO), obstacle avoidance, and both 3D and ROS-based visualizations.

Project Structure

squat-plan/ ├── run.py # Unified entry point ├── pyproject.toml # Modern build system config ├── src/ │ └── squatplan/ │ ├── __init__.py │ ├── main.py # Core simulation runner │ ├── trajopt.py # Trajectory optimization logic │ ├── plotter.py # Matplotlib-based plotting │ ├── quaternion.py # Quaternion math utils │ ├── forester.py # Obstacle generation │ └── sphere_example_rviz.py # ROS RViz marker publishing ├── squat.rviz # RViz display config ├── LICENSE ├── README.md └── presentation.pdf # MAE 271D presentation

Features

• Trajectory optimization using GEKKO with full or simplified dynamics
• Obstacle avoidance using geometric constraints
• Quaternion-based orientation modeling
• 3D visualizations via Matplotlib and RViz
• Synthetic forest generation for randomized path planning scenarios

Getting Started

Dependencies

Clone the repo and install in editable mode:

bash git clone https://github.com/aaronjohnsabu1999/squat-plan.git cd squat-plan python3 -m venv .venv source venv/bin/activate pip install -e .[dev]

Install ROS dependencies if on Linux or a WSL:

bash sudo apt install ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-rospy \ ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-geometry-msgs \ ros-${ROS_DISTRO}-visualization-msgs

Run Simulation

bash python run.py

To launch RViz in parallel:

```bash roscore

Then in another terminal:

python src/squatplan/sphereexamplerviz.py ```

Output Example

• Trajectory and state evolution plots (position, velocity, quaternion, thrust, moments)
• 3D environment with spherical/cylindrical obstacles and path trajectory

Project Context

Developed as a final project for MAE 271D — Control and Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Aerial Systems at UCLA.

Contributors:

• Aaron John Sabu
  
• Ryan Nemiroff
  
• Brett T. Lopez (Instructor)

Contact: {aaronjs, ryguyn, btlopez}@ucla.edu

License

MIT License © 2025
University of California, Los Angeles