◀ Back to Note

Tony's Intertwingled Memex • Reference Manual

Tracking Actuator Angular Velocity (Robotics & Computer Engineering)

Formulas & Definitions

A civil defense radar installation uses an automated tracking dish mounted at ground level to monitor oncoming flight vectors. The radar sits at a fixed perpendicular distance of x=4 kmx = 4\text{ km}x=4 km from the approach flight path. An incoming target flies at a constant altitude of y=3 kmy = 3\text{ km}y=3 km and approaches the station horizontally with distance coordinate zzz (in km\text{km}km).

The tracking angle θ\thetaθ (in radians) of the servo-actuator dish adjusts relative to the plane's horizontal distance coordinate zzz according to the inverse trigonometric relationship:

θ(z)=tan⁡−1(3z)\theta(z) = \tan^{-1}\left(\frac{3}{z}\right)θ(z)=tan−1(z3​)

As the plane flies inward, its coordinate distance decreases over time ttt (in seconds) according to the linear tracking velocity:

dzdt=−0.5 km/s\frac{dz}{dt} = -0.5\text{ km/s}dtdz​=−0.5 km/s

  1. Apply the Inverse Tangent Chain Rule to find the spatial rate of change of the angle with respect to distance (dθdz\frac{d\theta}{dz}dzdθ​).
  2. Simplify dθdz\frac{d\theta}{dz}dzdθ​ algebraically by clearing compound fractions.
  3. Link spatial angular change to temporal tracking speed using the Chain Rule (dθdt=dθdz⋅dzdt\frac{d\theta}{dt} = \frac{d\theta}{dz} \cdot \frac{dz}{dt}dtdθ​=dzdθ​⋅dtdz​).
  4. Calculate the required angular sweep velocity of the servo motor (dθdt\frac{d\theta}{dt}dtdθ​) when the horizontal distance settles at z=3 kmz = 3\text{ km}z=3 km.