Calculating bank angle between two objects - vector

Question

I have a drone following a path for movement. That is, it doesn't use a rigidbody so I don't have access to velocity or magnitude and such. It follows the path just fine, but I would like to add banking to it when it turns left or right. I use a dummy object in front of the drone, thinking I could calculate the bank/tilt amount using the transform vectors from the two objects.
I've been working on this for days as I don't have a lot of math skills. Basically I've been copying pieces of code trying to get things to work. Nothing I do works to make the drone bank. The following code manages to spin (not bank).
// Update is called once per frame
void Update () {
Quaternion rotation = Quaternion.identity;
Vector3 dir = (dummyObject.transform.position - this.transform.position).normalized;
float angle = Vector3.Angle( dir, transform.up );
float rollAngle = CalculateRollAngle(angle);
rotation.SetLookRotation(dir, transform.right);// + rollIntensity * smoothRoll * right);
rotation *= Quaternion.Euler(new Vector3(0, 0, rollAngle));
transform.rotation = rotation;
}
/// <summary>
/// Calculates Roll and smoothes it (to compensates for non C2 continuous control points algorithm) /// </summary>
/// <returns>The roll angle.</returns>
/// <param name="rollFactor">Roll factor.</param>
float CalculateRollAngle(float rollFactor)
{
smoothRoll = Mathf.Lerp(smoothRoll, rollFactor, rollSmoothing * Time.deltaTime);
float angle = Mathf.Atan2(1, smoothRoll * rollIntensity);
angle *= Mathf.Rad2Deg;
angle -= 90;
TurnRollAngle = angle;
angle += RollOffset;
return angle;
}

Answer 1

Assuming you have waypoints the drone is following, you should figure out the angle between the last two (i.e. your "now-facing" and "will be facing" directions). The easy way is to use Vector2.Angle.
I would use this angle to determine the amount I'll tilt the drone's body: the sharper the turn, the harder the banking. I would use a ratio value (public initially so I can manipulate it from the editor).
Next, instead of doing any math I would rely on the engine to do the rotation for me - so I would go for Transform.Rotate function.In case banking can go too high and look silly, I would set a maximum for that and Clamp my calculated banking angle between zero and max.
Without knowing exactly what you do and how, it's not easy to give perfect code, but for a better understand of the above, here's some (untested, i.e. pseudo) code for the solution I visualize:
public float turnSpeed = 7.0f; //the drone will "rotate toward the new waypoint" by this speed
//bankSpeed+turnBankRatio must be two times "faster" (and/or smaller degree) than turning, see details in 'EDIT' as of why:
public float bankSpeed = 14.0f; //banking speed
public float turnBankRatio = .5f; //90 degree turn == 45 degree banking
private float turnAngle = 0.0f; //this is the 'x' degree turning angle we'll "Lerp"
private float turnAngleABS = 0.0f; //same as turnAngle but it's an absolute value. Storing to avoid Mathf.Abs() in Update()!
private float bankAngle = 0.0f; //banking degree
private bool isTurning = false; //are we turning right now?
//when the action is fired for the drone it should go for the next waypoint, call this guy
private void TurningTrigger() {
//remove this line after testing, it's some extra safety
if (isTurning) { Debug.LogError("oups! must not be possible!"); return; }
Vector2 droneOLD2DAngle = GetGO2DPos(transform.position);
//do the code you do for the turning/rotation of drone here!
//or use the next waypoint's .position as the new angle if you are OK
//with the snippet doing the turning for you along with banking. then:
Vector2 droneNEW2DAngle = GetGO2DPos(transform.position);
turnAngle = Vector2.Angle(droneOLD2DAngle, droneNEW2DAngle); //turn degree
turnAngleABS = Mathf.Abs(turnAngle); //avoiding Mathf.Abs() in Update()
bankAngle = turnAngle * turnBankRatio; //bank angle
//you can remove this after testing. This is to make sure banking can
//do a full run before the drone hits the next waypoint!
if ((turnAngle * turnSpeed) < (bankAngle * bankSpeed)) {
Debug.LogError("Banking degree too high, or banking speed too low to complete maneuver!");
}
//you can clamp or set turnAngle based on a min/max here
isTurning = true; //all values were set, turning and banking can start!
}
//get 2D position of a GO (simplified)
private Vector2 GetGO2DPos(Vector3 worldPos) {
return new Vector2(worldPos.x, worldPos.z);
}
private void Update() {
if (isTurning) {
//assuming the drone is banking to the "side" and "side" only
transform.Rotate(0, 0, bankAngle * time.deltaTime * bankSpeed, Space.Self); //banking
//if the drone is facing the next waypoint already, set
//isTurning to false
} else if (turnAngleABS > 0.0f) {
//reset back to original position (with same speed as above)
//at least "normal speed" is a must, otherwise drone might hit the
//next waypoint before the banking reset can finish!
float bankAngle_delta = bankAngle * time.deltaTime * bankSpeed;
transform.Rotate(0, 0, -1 * bankAngle_delta, Space.Self);
turnAngleABS -= (bankAngle_delta > 0.0f) &#63 bankAngle_delta : -1 * bankAngle_delta;
}
//the banking was probably not set back to exactly 0, as time.deltaTime
//is not a fixed value. if this happened and looks ugly, reset
//drone's "z" to Quaternion.identity.z. if it also looks ugly,
//you need to test if you don't """over bank""" in the above code
//by comparing bankAngle_delta + 'calculated banking angle' against
//the identity.z value, and reset bankAngle_delta if it's too high/low.
//when you are done, your turning animation is over, so:
}
Again, this code might not perfectly fit your needs (or compile :P), so focus on the idea and the approach, not the code itself. Sorry for not being able right now to put something together and test myself - but I hope I helped. Cheers!
EDIT: Instead of a wall of text I tried to answer your question in code (still not perfect, but goal is not doing the job, but to help with some snippets and ideas :)
So. Basically, what you have is a distance and "angle" between two waypoints. This distance and your drone's flight/walk/whatever speed (which I don't know) is the maximum amount of time available for:
1. Turning, so the drone will face in the new direction
2. Banking to the side, and back to zero/"normal"
As there's two times more action on banking side, it either has to be done faster (bankSpeed), or in a smaller angle (turnBankRatio), or both, depending on what looks nice and feels real, what your preference is, etc. So it's 100% subjective. It's also your call if the drone turns+banks quickly and approaches toward the next waypoint, or does things in slow pace and turns just a little if has a lot of time/distance and does things fast only if it has to.
As of isTurning:
You set it to true when the drone reached a waypoint and heads out to the next one AND the variables to (turn and) bank were set properly. When you set it to false? It's up to you, but the goal is to do so when the maneuver is finished (this was buggy in the snippet the first time as this "optimal status" was not possible to ever be reached) so he drone can "reset banking".For further details on what's going on, see code comments.Again, this is just a snippet to support you with a possible solution for your problem. Give it some time and understand what's going on. It really is easy, you just need some time to cope ;)Hope this helps! Enjoy and cheers! :)