Glossary
Geometry and control of drones

Lie group; Lie group

The space of degrees of freedom for a UAV has a very specific algebraic structure, corresponding to a Lie group.

Lie algebra; Lie algebra

The velocity space of a drone (including translation and rotation) forms a vector space with special properties. The associated algebraic structure, called a Lie algebra, is to be mapped onto the Lie group. This correspondence is made through the exponential.

Geodesic; geodesic

A geodesic is a shortest path curve on a differential variety. Geodesics are used by drones to plan a trajectory on a curved surface, such as going from one city to another on Earth, taking into account its rotundity.