Mathematical Modeling and Nonlinear Control of VTOL Aerial Vehicles

Abstract

Monday, 09 June 2014 9:16 AM In an effort to make autonomous flight behaviors available to mini and micro rotorcraft, an embedded and inexpensive autopilot was developed. In this chapter, we present the main steps for designing a nonlinear flight controller for mini rotorcraft Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The proposed control system is based on the nonlinear model of rotorcraft UAVs and uses the inner and outer-loop control scheme. It considers system’s nonlinearities and coupling and results in a practical controller that is easy to implement and to tune. The asymptotic stability of the complete closed-loop system was proven by exploiting the theories of systems in cascade. In addition to controller design and stability analysis, the chapter provides information about the air vehicle, sensors integration and real-time implementation of guidance, navigation and control algorithms. A mini quadrotor UAV, equipped with the embedded autopilot, has undergone an extensive program of flight tests, resulting in various flight behaviors under autonomous control from takeoff to landing. Experimental results that demonstrate the capabilities of our autonomous UAV are presented.