Precision flight control for a multi-vehicle quadrotor helicopter testbed

Quadrotor helicopters continue to grow in popularity for unmanned aerial vehicle applications. However, accurate dynamic models for deriving controllers for moderate to high speeds have been lacking. This work presents theoretical models of quadrotor aerodynamics with non-zero free-stream velocities based on helicopter momentum and blade element theory, validated with static tests and flight data. Controllers are derived using these models and implemented on the Stanford Testbed of Autonomous Rotorcraft for Multi-Agent Control (STARMAC), demonstrating significant improvements over existing methods. The design of the STARMAC platform is described, and flight results are presented demonstrating improved accuracy over commercially available quadrotors.     

Nonlinear robust control of a small-scale helicopter on a test bench

A nonlinear robust controller design procedure is presented, which is designed to simultaneously satisfy multiple conflicting closed-loop performance specifications. Significantly, a robust performance specification for the experimental system, developed for studying the attitude control of a small-scale helicopter in our previous work, is discussed quantitatively. The robust performance specifications and nominal multiple closed-loop performance specifications are conflicting. Use of the Convex Integrated Design (CID) method can provide, where feasible, a single closed-loop controller which satisfies a set of multiple conflicting performance specifications. However, the resultant controller has a complex form. Here, the standard CID method is extended to a more general control system framework to solve the conflicting simultaneous performance design problem. When compared with the standard CID design, the extended CID design procedure generates a relatively simple closed-loop controller. Finally, the synthesised controller is tested in simulation and is validated with an experimental small-scale test helicopter, demonstrating the performance of the proposed controller.     

基于终端滑模的四旋翼飞行器非线性轨迹跟踪控制

考虑到四旋翼飞行器的传统内外环控制策略依赖时标分离假设,稳定性分析复杂,并且控制参数选取困难的缺点,提出了一种与传统内外环控制策略不同的轨迹跟踪控制器;首先将四旋翼飞行器数学模型进行相应的变换,以分解为高度、偏航角和纵横向三个级联的子系统,再使用终端滑模控制方法设计高度和偏航角子系统的控制器,使两个子系统的状态误差可以在有限时间内收敛到原点,之后基于变量非线性变换设计纵横向子系统的控制器,分析了闭环系统稳定性,证明了所设计的轨迹跟踪控制器可以保证闭环系统跟踪误差渐近稳定到原点,最后仿真实验的结果验证了所设计的控制器的有效性。     

一类不确定非线性系统的全局鲁棒有限时间镇定

对一类不确定非线性系统提出了一种连续的全局鲁棒有限时间控制律．首先,针对标称系统设计出了一种状态反馈控制律,应用Lyapunov直接稳定性理论和Lasalle不变性原理证明了闭环标称系统的全局渐近稳定性,同时具有负的齐次度;其次,引入辅助变量和采用有限时间收敛的二阶滑模Super—twisting算法,设计出了对不确定性和干扰进行抑制的补偿控制项,并根据有限时间Lyapunov函数给出了补偿控制项参数的取值范围;最后,综合得到一种连续的使实际闭环系统有限时间收敛到平衡点的鲁棒镇定控制律．仿真结果表明了所提控制律的有效性．     

控制输入受限的准全控制利用率有限时间稳定控制

针对控制输入受限的非线性系统,分6种情况证明有限时间稳定控制器(finite time stable controller, FTSC)作用下的系统状态收敛速度在论域空间中每一点必快于非有限时间稳定控制器(non-FTSC, NFTSC)作用下的系统状态收敛速度,并给出每一类情况下设计参数应满足的充分性约束条件,同时证明这些条件的存在性.在此基础上,提出全控制利用率控制器(CCUC)的定义,证明CCUC必然引起抖振,进而提出准全控制利用率控制器(QCCUC)设计的思想,并证明控制输入受限条件下, FTSC的控制利用率必优于任意快速FTSC(FFTSC),即具有更优的控制性能,从而得到一系列关于参数优化的结论.理论证明的结论通过图表、数例和仿真得到了验证.所得结论对终端滑模控制、加幂积分控制、有限时间稳定backstepping控制等多种FTSC均广泛适用.     

Nonlinear state estimation with robust convergence

The problem of designing a dynamic measurement processor for the on-line estimation of the state of a multi-input multi-output nonlinear plant is addressed. The plant can be either observable or detectable, encompassing a broad range of cases in process systems engineering. On the basis of the structure of a suitable property of robust nonlinear estimability, an estimator is built and its convergence studied, yielding sufficient conditions for robust convergence, a systematic construction, and a tractable gain tuning procedure. The estimability property has a verifiable test, and the execution of the tuning procedure, as well as the interpretation of its convergence features can be achieved within a conventional control framework for linear single-input controllers or single-output filters. The estimation of a continuous polymer reactor is considered as an application example.     

Robust nonlinear control of a variable-pitch quadrotor with the flip maneuver

This paper presents robust nonlinear control of a variable-pitch quadrotor with the flip maneuver. Backstepping approach is chosen for nonlinear control design. A control allocation loop dynamically computes the blade pitch angle of each rotor. A systematic method to select controller gains is presented that ensures closed-loop stability. Detailed analysis of the flip maneuver in the presence of input saturation is presented for the first time. Performance of the proposed control law is first verified through simulation. This is then implemented on a PixHawk open source autopilot board and flight tests are performed on an off-the-shelf variable-pitch quadrotor frame.     

一种快速有限时间收敛的轨迹跟踪引导律EI北大核心CSCD

针对参考轨迹曲率变化大导致前视距离(LAD)调整不及时,使得无人船(USV)轨迹跟踪误差收敛慢的问题,本文利用轨迹跟踪几何关系,建立位置跟踪误差动态系统,引入曲率参数设计一种新型的时变前视距离(NTLAD),提出一种快速有限时间收敛的轨迹跟踪引导律(FFTC-GL),包括期望艏向引导律和期望巡航速度引导律研究,以快速准确跟踪大范围曲率的轨迹.首先,构造NTLAD的稳定约束条件,结合图解法求解NTLAD函数,实现法向误差快速有限时间收敛,并且引入曲率参数,快速准确地跟踪不同曲率的轨迹.其次,基于切向误差的有限时间技术,设计快速有限时间速度引导律,实现切向误差动态系统的有限时间稳定.最后,通过对比有限时间上确界,表明引导律对位置跟踪误差收敛的快速性.轨迹跟踪仿真表明FFTC-GL能够在有限时间内跟踪参考轨迹,保证曲线拐点位置跟踪误差快速收敛.     

小型无人直升机姿态非线性鲁棒控制设计

本文针对小型无人直升机的姿态控制问题,通过系统参数辨识,获得了较为准确的无人直升机姿态动力学模型.并根据无人直升机的动态特性,设计了基于神经网络前馈与滑模控制的非线性鲁棒姿态控制律,该控制律对直升机模型的先验知识要求较低.利用基于Lyapunov的分析方法证明,设计的控制律能够实现对无人直升机姿态角的半全局指数收敛镇定控制,并能确保闭环系统的稳定性.基于姿态飞行控制实验平台的实时飞行控制实验结果表明,提出的控制设计取得了很好的姿态控制效果,并对系统不确定性和外界风扰动具有较好的鲁棒性.     

Adaptive prescribed time control for quadrotor formation with stochastic links failure

The formation control for multiple quadrotors subject to maintaining the formation configuration and collision avoidance in the situation of stochastic links failure is investigated in this paper. First, the distributed formation controller is designed, the position controller is developed to manage the desired formation of position, and the attitude controller is developed to control the translation and rotation movements of the quadrotor. Then, in order to avoid the collisions between multiple quadrotors and the obstacles, a potential energy function method is introduced into the quadrotor formation control combined with the nest adaptive control. Inspired by the design of event trigger controller, a communication compensation controller is designed to ensure the stability of quadrotor formation under the condition of random communication interruption and recovery. Moreover, a prescribed time function is designed, which means the convergence time of the formation system can be set in advance. The prescribed time stability of the formation control system is proved by Lyapunov theory. Finally, the simulation results verify the effectiveness and superiority of this method.     

倾转式三旋翼无人机的有限时间收敛控制设计

倾转式三旋翼无人机是一种多旋翼无人机的特殊构型,其兼具单旋翼无人机与普通多旋翼无人机的特点.目前对于此类无人机的鲁棒控制设计研究成果较少,多数已有的控制方法未考虑模型参数的不确定性与外界扰动对此类无人机控制的影响.为此本文针对倾转式三旋翼无人机动力学模型存在的转动惯量未知,以及飞行中受到未知外界扰动影响的情况,基于super-twisting算法,设计了一种新型非线性鲁棒控制方法.通过基于Lyapunov的稳定性分析方法,证明了闭环系统的稳定性,并得到在有限时间内三旋翼无人机的姿态跟踪误差收敛的结果.本文中所提出的控制算法,在倾转式三旋翼无人机实验平台上进行了实时飞行控制实验,取得了较好的控制效果.     

Adaptive control of a quadrotor aerial vehicle with input constraints and uncertain parameters

In this paper, we address the problem of adaptive bounded control for the trajectory tracking of a Quadrotor Aerial Vehicle (QAV) while the input saturations and uncertain parameters with the known bounds are simultaneously taken into account. First, to deal with the underactuated property of the QAV model, we decouple and construct the QAV model as a cascaded structure which consists of two fully actuated subsystems. Second, to handle the input constraints and uncertain parameters, we use a combination of the smooth saturation function and smooth projection operator in the control design. Third, to ensure the stability of the overall system of the QAV, we develop the technique for the cascaded system in the presence of both the input constraints and uncertain parameters. Finally, the region of stability of the closed-loop system is constructed explicitly, and our design ensures the asymptotic convergence of the tracking errors to the origin. The simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Finite‐time adaptive robust control of nonlinear time‐delay uncertain systems with disturbance

This paper investigates finite‐time adaptive robust control problem for a general class of nonlinear time‐delay systems with uncertain and external disturbance via the Lyapunov‐Krasovskii (L‐K) method and presents some delay‐independent and delay‐dependent results on the issue. First, by applying the orthogonal decomposition method, this paper presents an equivalent form. Based on which, we study the finite‐time adaptive robust control problem for the systems by constructing a specific L‐K functional and designing a suitable controller. Different from existing works, this paper studies finite‐time adaptive robust control problem for general nonlinear delay system and presents a delay‐dependent sufficient condition on the problem. Finally, an illustrative example is given to show the effectiveness of the result in this paper.     

迭代学习控制器设计:一种有限时间死区方法

提出系统不确定性项定常参数化和时变参数化情形下的控制器设计方法,它允许初始位置任意设置且定位误差不要求足够小.在设计的控制器中,采用有限时间死区技术,以保证跟踪误差收敛到这种死区所确定的区域.提出初始修正吸引子的概念,构造的时变死区含这种初始修正吸引子,以使得闭环系统在给定时间区间上可实现完全跟踪.理论分析与仿真结果表明,跟踪误差信号在一预先指定区间上收敛到零,在起始区间段上被囿于死区所确定的区域中;并保证闭环系统中所有信号是有界的.     

Bounded attitude control of rigid bodies: Real-time experimentation to a quadrotor mini-helicopter

A quaternion-based feedback is developed for the attitude stabilization of rigid bodies. The control design takes into account a priori input bounds and is based on nested saturation approach. It results in a very simple controller suitable for an embedded use with low computational resources available. The proposed method is generic not restricted to symmetric rigid bodies and does not require the knowledge of the inertia matrix of the body. The control law can be tuned to force closed-loop trajectories to enter in some a priori fixed neighborhood of the origin in a finite time and remain thereafter. The global stability is guaranteed in the case where angular velocity sensors have limited measurement range. The control law is experimentally applied to the attitude stabilization of a quadrotor mini-helicopter.     

PID control of quadrotor UAVs: A survey

The proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control is the most common control approach used in industrial and commercial mechatronics products. The PID control has been relevant across history since it is useful and intuitive in practical implementations. The selection of three parameters involving the present, past, and future of the system makes it simple and efficient. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as quadrotors have become very common and helpful in many tasks such as surveillance, mapping, and inspection, among others. Quadrotors present highly nonlinear and coupled dynamics that can be stabilized using four control inputs. These facts have prompted the attention of many control practitioners and theoretical specialists. The literature reveals that PID control has been the natural choice to stabilize quadrotor UAVs since its simplicity and robustness. The advantages of the PID control have been considered to perform combinations with other techniques. This paper surveys applications of PID control structures in quadrotor UAVs paying attention to linear, nonlinear, discontinuous, fractional order, intelligent and adaptive schemes. Future directions of PID control are also discussed, and open problems are highlighted.     

Finite‐time tracking control for a class of nonlinear systems with multiple mismatched disturbances

This article investigates the finite‐time output tracking problem for a class of nonlinear systems with multiple mismatched disturbances. To efficiently estimate the disturbances and their derivatives, a continuous finite‐time disturbance observer (CFTDO) design method is developed. Based on the modified adding a power integrator method and CFTDO technique, a composite tracking controller is constructed such that the system output can track the desired reference signal in finite time. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.     

Finite‐time geometric control for underactuated aerial manipulators with unknown disturbances

In this article, the finite‐time geometric control for underactuated aerial manipulators is investigated. The dynamics of the aerial manipulator with unknown disturbances is analyzed first. The dynamics of the system is decomposed into the locked subsystem and shape subsystem. The finite‐time controller for the aerial manipulator is then designed based on the analyzed dynamics. In the controller, the attitude tracking error of the aircraft base is expressed from the rotation matrix, which makes the controller continuous and almost globally stable on SO(3). A continuous adaptive term is added in the controller to compensate for the unknown disturbances. Finite‐time filters are designed to ensure the smoothness of the commands on each loop. The convergence of the entire controlled system is strictly proved using Lyapunov theory and the definition of finite‐time stability. The results show that the tracking error and the disturbance bound estimation error of the entire system are finite‐time bounded near origin. Finally, comparative simulation results are presented to show the performance of the proposed controller.     

Nonlinear robust sliding mode control of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle based on immersion and invariance method

We present an asymptotic tracking controller for an underactuated quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle using the sliding mode control method and immersion and invariance based adaptive control strategy in this paper. The control system is divided into two loops: the inner‐loop for the attitude control and the outer‐loop for the position. The sliding mode control technology is applied in the inner‐loop to compensate the unmatched nonlinear disturbances, and the immersion and invariance approach is chosen for the outer‐loop to address the parametric uncertainties. The asymptotic tracking of the position and the yaw motion is proven with the Lyapunov based stability analysis and LaSalle's invariance theorem. Real‐time experiment results performed on a hardware‐in‐the‐loop‐simulation testbed are presented to validate the good control performance of the proposed scheme. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

四旋翼无人飞行器的轨迹跟踪与滑模事件驱动控制

四旋翼飞行器作为一个典型的欠驱动的系统,具有强耦合、非线性等特性.针对飞行器外部干扰、和通信资源受限条件下的轨迹跟踪控制问题,进行滑模事件驱动控制方法的研究.首先,分析动力学特性,通过时间尺度分解方法将系统解耦成位置子系统和姿态子系统.其次,将位置子系统转化为严格反馈形式,设计反步滑模控制器,实现位置轨迹稳定跟踪;针对姿态子系统存在时变有界扰动及通信受限,设计滑模事件驱动控制律,在抑制干扰的同时实现对虚拟姿态跟踪指令的跟踪.根据Lyapunov分析方法证明了所设计控制器的稳定性,并通过理论分析证明闭环控制系统不会出现Zeno现象.最后,仿真结果验证了滑模事件驱动控制律在存在外部扰动和通信受限时四旋翼无人飞行器轨迹跟踪的鲁棒性.