Patent ID: 8378276

Claim:
A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with computer executable code capable of being run on a computer for guiding a vehicle to a target, the computer executable code comprising: computer executable code for determining a vehicle-to-target position vector r; computer executable code for determining a net vehicle-to-target velocity v; computer executable code for determining a net vehicle-to-target acceleration a; computer executable code for determining the time-to-go τ according to a first equation: 1 2 ⁢ a · a ⁢ ⁢ τ 3 + 3 2 ⁢ a · v ⁢ ⁢ τ 2 + ( a · r + v · v ) ⁢ τ + v · r = 0 ; computer executable code for determining an acceleration command A according to a second equation: A = r τ 2 + v τ + 1 2 ⁢ a ⁢ ; and computer executable code for generating control signals based upon the thus calculated acceleration command A.