Model‐assisted extended state observer and dynamic surface control–based trajectory tracking for quadrotors via output‐feedback mechanism

In this paper, an output‐feedback trajectory tracking controller for quadrotors is presented by integrating a model‐assisted extended state observer (ESO) with dynamic surface control. The quadrotor dynamics are described by translational and rotational loops with lumped disturbances to promote the hierarchical control design. Then, by exploiting the structural property of the quadrotor, a model information–assisted high‐order ESO that relies only on position measurements is designed to estimate not only the unmeasurable states but also the lumped disturbances in the rotational loop. In addition, to account for the problem of “explosion of complexity” inherent in hierarchical control, the output feedback–based trajectory tracking and attitude stabilization laws are respectively synthesized by utilizing dynamic surface control and the corresponding estimated signals provided by the ESO. The stability analysis is given, showing that the output‐feedback trajectory tracking controller can ensure the ultimate boundedness of all signals in the closed‐loop system and make the tracking errors arbitrarily small. Finally, flight simulations with respect to an 8‐shaped trajectory command are performed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme in obtaining the stable and accurate trajectory tracking using position measurements only.     

四旋翼飞行器自适应动态面轨迹跟踪控制

针对具有未知外界扰动和系统不确定性集总未知非线性的四旋翼飞行器,提出了一种采用自适应不确定性补偿器的自适应动态面轨迹跟踪方法.通过将四旋翼飞行器系统分解为位置、欧拉角和角速率3个动态子系统,使各子系统虚拟控制器设计能充分考虑欠驱动约束;结合动态面控制技术,通过采用一阶低通滤波器,避免对虚拟控制信号求导;进而设计自适应不确定性补偿器,处理未知外界扰动和系统不确定性,最终确保闭环控制系统的稳定性、跟踪误差一致最终有界和系统所有状态信号有界.仿真研究和实验结果验证了本文提出控制方法的有效性和优越性.     

Nonlinear control with integral sliding properties for circular aerial robot trajectory tracking: Real‐time validation

A nonlinear control algorithm for tracking dynamic trajectories using an aerial vehicle is developed in this work. The control structure is designed using a sliding mode methodology, which contains integral sliding properties. The stability analysis of the closed‐loop system is proved using the Lyapunov formalism, ensuring convergence in a desired finite time and robustness toward unknown and external perturbations from the first time instant, even for high frequency disturbances. In addition, a dynamic trajectory is constructed with the translational dynamics of an aerial robot for autonomous take‐off, surveillance missions, and landing. This trajectory respects the constraints imposed by the vehicle characteristics, allowing free initial trajectory conditions. Simulation results demonstrate the good performance of the controller in closed‐loop system when a quadrotor follows the designed trajectory. In addition, flight tests are developed to validate the trajectory and the controller behavior in real time.     

四旋翼无人机飞控系统的研究与实现

本文通过数学建模进行动力学系统分析,研究实现了基于硬件和软件的四旋翼无人机飞控系统。首先、构建了四旋翼无人机动力学模型并进行理论分析;其次、设计了无人机机架,对各组成模块进行测试、分析和试验;再次、通过集成软硬件实现了无人机飞控系统并进行飞行测试;最后、实验结果表明,实现的无人机飞控系统取得了较好的飞控效果,具有灵敏性强、稳定性高,总体性能优良等优点。     

Robust Tracking Control of Helicopters Using Backstepping with Disturbance Observers

This paper addresses the robust and accurate trajectory tracking problem for unmanned helicopters in the presence of model uncertainties and external disturbances. First, the helicopter's model is simplified to a six‐degrees‐of‐freedom rigid body augmented with a simplified rotor dynamic model, with the model uncertainties and the external disturbances being treated as lumped unknown disturbances. Second, a nonlinear disturbance observer is designed to estimate this lumped disturbance. Then, a backstepping controller with disturbance compensation is designed to ensure robust and highly trajectory tracking. After that, the theoretical analysis of the efficiency of the designed disturbance observer‐based backstepping controller (Backstepping+DO) is shown by the Lyapunov theory. Finally, simulation results and conclusions are presented and discussed.     

基于扩张状态观测器的四旋翼无人机快速非奇异终端滑模轨迹跟踪控制

针对受多源干扰影响的四旋翼无人机系统的轨迹跟踪控制问题进行研究,充分考虑位置回路和姿态回路动态特性,提出一种全回路复合快速非奇异终端滑模轨迹跟踪控制方案.首先,通过变换将轨迹跟踪问题转化为位置回路和姿态回路的指令跟踪控制问题;然后,将各通道之间的耦合以及多源干扰影响视作集总干扰,并基于扩张状态观测器对其进行估计;接着,基于干扰估计信息和快速非奇异终端滑模控制算法,分别在位置回路和姿态回路构造复合快速非奇异终端滑模控制器;最后,基于位置回路和姿态回路虚拟控制量解得无人机真实控制量旋翼转速.仿真结果表明,所提出控制方案显著提升了四旋翼无人机轨迹跟踪的响应速度和抗干扰性能.     

Multivariable sliding mode backstepping controller design for quadrotor UAV based on disturbance observer

This paper deals with the tracking control problem of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (QUAVs) with external disturbances. First, because the QUAV model contains two non-integrity constraints, the dynamic model of the QUAV is decomposed into two subsystems which are independently controlled, so as to reduce controller design complexity. Secondly, the nonlinear disturbance observer (DOB) technique is integrated into a backstepping control method to design the controller for the first subsystem, in which a DOB is applied to estimate the lumped uncertainty. Based on the double power reaching law and the DOB, a multivariable sliding mode control (MSMC) scheme is developed for the second subsystem. Thirdly, based on Lyapunov theory, the closed-loop system is proved to be asymptotically stable. Finally, our comparative simulation results demonstrate that the presented control scheme behaves better in terms of tracking performance than the adaptive backstepping control (ABC) approach.     

基于神经网络的无人机滑模飞行控制设计

针对无人机受扰运动,基于Backstepping方法和非线性滑模控制提出了一种鲁棒神经网络飞行控制方案。对无人机姿态角速度层的系统不确定性项,采用径向基函数神经网络并对其权值进行在线调整,从而实现对其进行逼近。将回馈递推设计方法与滑模控制方法结合起来,基于神经网络的输出为无人机设计了一种回馈递推滑模飞行控制器。所设计的飞行控制器用于无人机的姿态控制,仿真结果表明所研究的无人机鲁棒神经网络飞行控制方案是有效的。     

平面四旋翼无人飞行器运送系统的轨迹规划与跟踪控制器设计

对于四旋翼无人飞行器运送系统而言,需要保证飞行过程中负载的摆幅维持在适当的范围内,并且在飞行器到达目的地后负载无残余摆动.本文针对四旋翼无人飞行器运送系统,提出了一种新颖的轨迹规划与跟踪控制方法.论文首先得到了平面四旋翼无人飞行器的运动特性与负载摆角之间的非线性耦合关系.通过相平面内的几何分析,分别设计了两个轴方向上的分段式加速度轨迹.这种轨迹具有简洁的解析表达式并可获得较高的运送效率,同时满足飞行器的速度,加速度等物理约束.为了使四旋翼无人飞行器准确跟踪规划好的轨迹,本文基于反步法设计了一种非线性跟踪控制器,并通过李雅普诺夫方法对其闭环稳定性进行分析,证明其能使跟踪误差指数收敛于零.论文最后通过仿真结果验证了本文所提出方法的可行性与有效性,及其对外界干扰的鲁棒性.     

Robust Flight Control Using Nonsmooth Optimization for a Tandem Ducted Fan Vehicle

This work addresses the aerodynamic modeling and near‐hover‐flight control design for an unconventional aerial robot of the tandem ducted fan configuration, which is intended to be prototypical of a flight service vehicle. The main model elements of this novel unmanned vehicle, which exhibit highly nonlinear and unstable open‐loop modes, are presented. A frequency‐domain controllability analysis concerning the plant's behavior around the hovering flight condition is then adopted to determine the expected control performance, which is of important practical significance to controllability improvement through vehicle design changes. A robust controller that stabilizes the unmanned vehicle under wind disturbances is designed using a newly developed nonsmooth optimization algorithm, which rigorously and efficiently tunes the arbitrarily predefined structured controller against multiple control requirements. A successive two‐loop architecture is employed in the designed controller. In this architecture, the inner loop provides stability augmentation and decoupling, and the outer loop guarantees the desired velocity tracking performance. Simulation results under stochastic wind gusts are presented to verify the performance of the proposed controllers. Preliminary flight tests are also carried out to demonstrate the performance of the system.     

Backstepping Sliding Mode Trajectory Tracking via Extended State Observer for Quadrotors with Wind Disturbance

To overcome nonlinear, underactuated and external wind disturbances problems for the 6-DOF (degrees of freedom) quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, a backstepping sliding mode control algorithm based on high-order extended state observer (ESO) is proposed. Based on the hierarchical control principle, the quadrotor UAV dynamic system is decomposed into position subsystem and attitude subsystem to facilitate the backstepping control design. Moreover, the EXO is used to estimate the remaining unmeasurable states and the external wind disturbances online. The advantages of the controllers are that they can not only ensure good tracking performance, but also deal with uncertain external disturbances. To imitate the real situation as much as possible, the external wind disturbances are composed of four basic wind models in this paper. The tracking error and estimate error of the design methods are shown to arbitrarily small by using Lyapunov theory. Finally, the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control algorithm are proved by the simulation.

     

干扰下的无人直升机自适应反步法鲁棒跟踪控制

针对无人直升机干扰下的鲁棒轨迹跟踪问题,设计了一种自适应反步控制方法.鉴于作用在直升机上的干扰是产生跟踪误差的主要原因,该方法的主要思想是寻求一种方法来补偿这种干扰.首先,将未建模动态如外部阵风干扰、配平误差、机身、垂尾、平尾以及其他可忽略的动态产生的力和力矩看成一种组合干扰,从而建立了一个方便反步法控制器设计的简化模型.当设计好反步法控制器后,设计了一个非线性自适应律来估计这种组合干扰,并通过将干扰估计值整合到反步控制器中,使得闭环跟踪系统的鲁棒稳定性得到了保证,即基于李雅普诺夫稳定性理论证明了所设的控制器对于干扰主动阻隔,特别是低频干扰的主动阻隔是有效的.最后,两个仿真研究验证了该方法是优于常规反步法和积分反步法的.     

Backstepping approach for design of PID controller with guaranteed performance for micro-air UAV

Flight controllers for micro-air UAVs are generally designed using proportional-integral-derivative (PID) methods, where the tuning of gains is difficult and time-consuming, and performance is not guaranteed. In this paper, we develop a rigorous method based on the sliding mode analysis and nonlinear backstepping to design a PID controller with guaranteed performance. This technique provides the structure and gains for the PID controller, such that a robust and fast response of the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) for trajectory tracking is achieved. First, the second-order sliding variable errors are used in a rigorous nonlinear backstepping design to obtain guaranteed performance for the nonlinear UAV dynamics. Then, using a small angle approximation and rigorous geometric manipulations, this nonlinear design is converted into a PID controller whose structure is naturally determined through the backstepping procedure. PID gains that guarantee robust UAV performance are finally computed from the sliding mode gains and from stabilizing gains for tracking error dynamics. We prove that the desired Euler angles of the inner attitude controller loop are related to the dynamics of the outer backstepping tracker loop by inverse kinematics, which provides a seamless connection with existing built-in UAV attitude controllers. We implement the proposed method on actual UAV, and experimental flight tests prove the validity of these algorithms. It is seen that our PID design procedure yields tighter UAV performance than an existing popular PID control technique.     

四旋翼飞行器的自抗扰飞行控制方法

针对四旋翼飞行器参数不确定性和外部干扰敏感的问题,本文提出一种基于自抗扰控制器的控制系统设计方法.在为期望姿态和高度安排过渡过程的基础上,设计了扩张状态观测器对内扰和外扰进行估计并实时补偿,能够很好地克服飞行器的强耦合性、模型不确定性以及风速变化等外部干扰问题.此外本文还设计了非线性状态误差反馈控制律来有效抑制跟踪误差.在仿真平台上对自抗扰控制系统进行稳定控制、姿态跟踪、高度控制、抗扰性及鲁棒性实验,并与串级PID控制系统进行定量对比分析.仿真结果表明,本文所设计的自抗扰控制器不仅能够很好地估计并补偿系统所受内外部干扰,而且对四旋翼飞行器参数的不确定性具有较强的鲁棒性,能够满足飞行器姿态调节快速和高稳定度的控制要求,性能指标明显优于串级PID控制器.     

垂直起降无人机基于图像的目标跟踪控制

针对安装有惯性测量单元和摄像机的低成本四旋翼无人机,研究无位置、速度、航向测量情况下的机动目标基于图像的跟踪控制方法.首先,结合无人机的动力学方程在图像空间中推导了系统的误差方程.其次,为克服无航向测量的问题,设计了一种位置控制器,使用图像矩作为反馈输入并输出油门和姿态指令.最后,针对缺少图像速度测量问题,设计了一种super-twisting滑模观测器和控制器,生成的期望姿态和拉力指令无颤振,并通过李雅普诺夫理论证明了控制系统的稳定性.最终无人机通过调整倾斜姿态实现了跟踪飞行,且避免了响应慢的航向调整.跟踪机动目标的仿真结果验证了所提出方法的有效性.     

The Trajectory Tracking Problem of Quadrotor UAV: Global Stability Analysis and Control Design Based on the Cascade Theory

This paper deals with the trajectory tracking problem of a six‐degree of freedom (6‐DOF) quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The problem of simplified kinematics based on Euler angles is analyzed and the modified Rodrigues parameters (MRPs) technique is introduced to model the rotational dynamics of the rigid body. A nonlinear system error model is established based on the trajectory tracking problem, and, due to the coupling property between the translational and rotational dynamics, we divide the complete closed‐loop system into two reduced‐order subsystems and a coupling term. The Rodrigues theorem is applied to analyze the internal connections between the coupling term and MRPs. Therefore, the global stability conclusions, by which the trajectory tracking controller of the quadrotor UAV could be designed based on the subsystem directly in future works, are proved based on several assumptions of the subsystems. Thereafter, the controllers, using the backstepping approach and nonlinear disturbance observer/sliding mode control approach, which stabilize the quadrotor UAV globally ‐exponentially and globally uniformly bounded, are proposed based on the stability theorem proofs mentioned above. Numerical simulations are provided to show that the theoretical conclusions and the controller proposed are effective.     

位置和速度受限的微型无人直升机轨迹跟踪控制器

针对微型无人直升机在狭窄空间中的轨迹跟踪问题,设计了一种可以限制直升机位置和速度的跟踪控制器.首先将直升机的模型简化为一个未建模的动态模型.基于简化模型利用受限反步法设计控制器,其中在位置控制回路用障碍李雅普诺夫函数代替传统的纯二次型李雅普诺夫函数,以此来限制直升机的位置和速度;用指令滤波器对反步过程中虚拟控制的导数进行估计,避免了复杂的解析计算.此外,将未建模动态和指令滤波器误差合并成有界扰动项,并设计了自适应算法对扰动的上界进行估计和补偿.稳定性分析证明了直升机的闭环跟踪误差最终一致有界,且位置和速度始终位于预设的限制集合中.仿真结果验证了该控制器的有效性.     

四旋翼无人机姿态系统的非线性容错控制设计

本文研究了四旋翼无人机执行器发生部分失效时的姿态控制问题.通过分析其动力学特性,将执行器故障以乘性因子加入系统模型,得到执行器故障情况下四旋翼无人机的姿态动力学模型.在同时存在未知外部扰动和执行器故障的情况下,设计了一种基于自适应滑模控制的容错控制器.利用基于Lyapunov的分析方法证明了所设计控制器的渐近稳定性.在四旋翼无人机实验平台上进行了实验,验证了该算法对存在未知外部扰动和执行器部分失效时四旋翼无人机的姿态控制具有较好的鲁棒性.     

Visual Object Tracking and Servoing Control of a Nano-Scale Quadrotor: System,Algorithms, and Experiments

There are two main trends in the development of unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)technologies:miniaturization and intellectualization,in which realizing object tracking capabilities for a nano-scale UAV is one of the most challenging problems.In this paper,we present a visual object tracking and servoing control system utilizing a tailor-made 38 g nano-scale quadrotor.A lightweight visual module is integrated to enable object tracking capabilities,and a micro positioning deck is mounted to provide accurate pose estimation.In order to be robust against object appearance variations,a novel object tracking algorithm,denoted by RMCTer,is proposed,which integrates a powerful short-term tracking module and an efficient long-term processing module.In particular,the long-term processing module can provide additional object information and modify the short-term tracking model in a timely manner.Furthermore,a positionbased visual servoing control method is proposed for the quadrotor,where an adaptive tracking controller is designed by leveraging backstepping and adaptive techniques.Stable and accurate object tracking is achieved even under disturbances.Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the high accuracy and stability of the whole tracking system.     

Extended sliding mode observer-based high-accuracy motion control for uncertain electro-hydraulic systems

In this paper, a novel robust backstepping control strategy is introduced to achieve high-accuracy tracking performance for electro-hydraulic servo systems (EHSSs) without velocity information in the presence of uncertainties and disturbances. Firstly, system dynamics of the studied EHSS considering parameter deviations, modeling errors, and unknown external loads which are grouped into lumped mismatched and matched disturbances in the mechanical system and pressure dynamics, respectively, are developed. On the basis of the sliding mode theory, two extended sliding mode observers (ESMOs) are originally established to simultaneously estimate the immeasurable angular velocity of the actuator, and lumped mismatched and matched uncertainties. As a consequence, an observer-based controller is designed using the conventional backstepping technique to ensure a highly accurate tracking position control. In addition, the stability of the observer and overall closed-loop control system is conclusively proven through the Lyapunov theory. Finally, several numerical simulations for an EHSS with a hydraulic rotary actuator are conducted to demonstrate the advantage of the recommended method compared to the existing well-known extended state observer-based control approaches.