Robust trajectory tracking control for unmanned tail‐sitters in aggressive flight mode transitions

In this paper, the trajectory tracking control problem is investigated for a new typical tail‐sitter. A robust hierarchical control method is proposed to achieve aggressive flight mode transitions. The proposed control method results in a composite controller including a translational controller and a rotational controller to control the position and attitude respectively. Continuous aggressive flight mode transitions can be achieved without switching on the coordinate systems or the controller structures. It is proven that the tracking errors of the designed closed‐loop system can converge into a given neighborhood of the origin in a finite time. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.     

Robust controller design for uncertain delayed systems and its applications to hypersonic vehicles

The longitudinal dynamics of hypersonic flight vehicles involves strong nonlinearity and coupling, uncertainties including parametric uncertainties, unmodeled uncertainties, external disturbances, and time‐varying input and state time delays. In this paper, a robust controller design method is proposed for the longitudinal stabilization of these vehicles by the signal‐compensation‐based control idea. Theoretical analysis is given to prove the robustness properties of the designed closed‐loop control system subject to multiple time‐varying uncertainties and time‐varying input and state delays. Simulation results are performed to show the validness and advantages of the proposed robust control approach.     

带有干扰观测器的高超声速飞行器滑模控制

针对高超声速飞行器非线性和易受干扰影响的特点,提出了带有扩张状态干扰观测器的连续滑模控制方法.在对飞行器非线性模型做线性化处理的基础上,设计了一种连续时间滑模控制器.该控制器在对不确定性和未知动态保持鲁棒性的基础上,消除了传统滑模中存在的抖振现象.对系统中存在的外加干扰,设计了扩张状态干扰观测器.将外加干扰作为系统的一个状态变量被估计出来,再将估计值用作滑模控制器的补偿量,进而达到消除外干扰的目的.在高超声速飞行器巡航飞行状态的基础上进行了仿真.仿真结果表明,所提出的方案能够满足控制要求.     

倾转旋翼机平均驻留时间切换鲁棒H∞跟踪控制

针对倾转旋翼飞行器模态转换阶段的飞行控制问题,本文给出了倾转旋翼机纵向运动飞行控制系统模型和一种基于参考模型的鲁棒跟踪控制方法.为了保证闭环系统在切换过程中稳定并同时满足指定的鲁棒H∞性能指标,利用状态观测器对系统不可观测状态进行估计,结合模型依赖平均驻留时间方法提出了一种倾转旋翼机切换鲁棒H∞跟踪控制方法,通过求解线性矩阵不等式得到控制器增益,并分析了系统的鲁棒稳定性.仿真结果表明,所提出的方法能够使飞行器系统准确跟踪指令,且对于控制器切换具有鲁棒性.     

Uncertainty modeling and robust minimax LQR control of multivariable nonlinear systems with application to hypersonic flight

For a class of multi‐input and multi‐output nonlinear uncertainty systems, a novel approach to design a nonlinear controller using minimax linear quadratic regulator (LQR) control is proposed. The proposed method combines a feedback linearization method with the robust minimax LQR approach in the presence of time‐varying uncertain parameters. The uncertainties, which are assumed to satisfy a certain integral quadratic constraint condition, do not necessarily satisfy a generalized matching condition. The procedure consists of feedback linearization of the nominal model and linearization of the remaining nonlinear uncertain terms with respect to each individual uncertainty at a local operating point. This two‐stage linearization process, followed by a robust minimax LQR control design, provides a robustly stable closed loop system. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an application study is provided for a flight control problem of an air‐breathing hypersonic flight vehicle (AHFV), where the outputs to be controlled are the longitudinal velocity and altitude, and the control variables are the throttle setting and elevator deflection. The proposed method is used to derive a linearized uncertainty model for the longitudinal motion dynamics of the AHFV first, and then a robust minimax LQR controller is designed, which is based on this uncertainty model. The controller is synthesized considering seven uncertain aerodynamic and inertial parameters. The stability and performance of the synthesized controller is evaluated numerically via single scenario simulations for particular cruise conditions as well as a Monte‐Carlo type simulation based on numerous cases. It is observed that the control scheme proposed in this paper performs better, especially from the aspect of robustness to large ranges of uncertainties, than some controller design schemes previously published in the literature. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley and Sons Asia Pte Ltd and Chinese Automatic Control Society     

分布式多无人机的时变编队非线性控制设计

研究了基于分布式通信网络的多无人机时变编队控制问题,考虑到外界扰动对多无人机协同编队系统的影响,提出一种新的连续非线性鲁棒编队控制方法.首先基于一致性方法构造了分布式无人机编队误差系统,降低了编队控制器对全局编队信息的要求;然后采用一种基于误差符号函数积分的鲁棒控制算法补偿未知外界扰动的影响,提高了无人机编队系统的鲁棒性,并基于Lyapunov分析的方法,证明了多无人机编队误差的半全局渐进收敛性;最后在四旋翼无人机编队实验平台上进行了多无人机时变编队的实时实验验证,实验结果表明,所提出的分布式编队控制算法可以实现多无人机时变编队控制,且具有较好的协同性能和抗干扰能力.     

基于二次稳定的仿真转台鲁棒控制器设计

针对摩擦力矩干扰,系统参数摄动等非线性扰动环节对仿真转台控制系统的影响,提出了基于二次稳定理论的仿真转台鲁棒控制器设计思想。分析了二次稳定理论的基本原理及设计方法,给出了某型飞行仿真转台基于二次稳定的状态反馈控制器和PID鲁棒控制器设计实例。仿真结果表明,基于二次稳定理论的控制器克服了摩擦力矩干扰以及转动惯量摄动对仿真转台的影响,实现了转台转角的精确控制,动态指标优越,满足了高精度飞行仿真转台系统的鲁棒控制要求。     

具有未知干扰的无人机鲁棒滑模飞行控制

研究无人机飞行稳定性控制问题,由于无人机飞行控制系统存在时变外部干扰,飞行过程中升阴比变化激烈,控制稳定性难度较大。利用滑模控制良好的鲁棒能力提出一种神经网络的鲁棒飞行控制方法。因神经网络有良好非线性逼近能力,可对无人机飞行系统中的不确定进行在线逼近,并将神经网络权值误差引入到权值的自适应律中用以改善系统的动态性能。利用神经网络的组合,设计无人机鲁棒滑模飞行控制器。控制器分为两部分,一部分是等效控制器,另一部分是滑模控制器,能有效减小系统的跟踪误差。最后将所设计的鲁棒滑模控制对无人机飞行姿态控制进行仿真。仿真结果表明,新方法能提高无人机的鲁棒飞行控制能力且能实现无人机姿态的精确跟踪和稳定性控制。     

Command-filtered sensor-based backstepping controller for small unmanned aerial vehicles with actuator dynamics

In this study, a command-filtered sensor-based backstepping controller is proposed for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with actuator dynamics. The command filter is introduced to prompt the virtual control law to be limited in a certain range and the corresponding state to subsequently be restricted to a certain area. When using the sensor-based backstepping recursive method, precise models of the UAVs are not required because the controller is not sensitive to the external disturbance. The actuator dynamics are compensated without prior knowledge of the mathematical model of the executing agency. Besides, a robust compensator is developed for the virtual control law of the first subsystem of the UAV, which shows strong robustness against the uncertainties of the aerodynamic coefficients and external disturbances. Moreover, the closed-loop system is proven stable in the sense that the signals are bounded. A numerical simulation is carried out to verify the effectiveness of the developed controller.     

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.     

Accurate Modeling and Robust Hovering Control for a Quad–rotor VTOL Aircraft

Quad-robot type (QRT) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been developed for quick detection and observation of the circumstances under calamity environment such as indoor fire spots. The UAV is equipped with four propellers driven by each electric motor, an embedded controller, an Inertial Navigation System (INS) using three rate gyros and accelerometers, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera with wireless communication transmitter for observation, and an ultrasonic range sensor for height control. Accurate modeling and robust flight control of QRT UAVs are mainly discussed in this work. Rigorous dynamic model of a QRT UAV is obtained both in the reference and body frame coordinate systems. A disturbance observer (DOB) based controller using the derived dynamic models is also proposed for robust hovering control. The control input induced by DOB is helpful to use simple equations of motion satisfying accurately derived dynamics. The developed hovering robot shows stable flying performances under the adoption of DOB and the vision based localization method. Although a model is incorrect, DOB method can design a controller by regarding the inaccurate part of the model and sensor noises as disturbances. The UAV can also avoid obstacles using eight IR (Infrared) and four ultrasonic range sensors. This kind of micro UAV can be widely used in various calamity observation fields without danger of human beings under harmful environment. The experimental results show the performance of the proposed control algorithm.     

Hybrid Consensus-Based Formation Control of Fixed-Wing MUAVs

Hybrid consensus-based formation control is designed in this paper for a team of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The UAVs moving at fixed altitudes are controlled through a novel hybrid controller to drive them to a goal location while maintaining a predefined formation. The hybrid automaton has two discrete modes, each with continuous dynamics: a regulation mode and a formation keeping mode. The controller in the regulation mode uses local UAV state information to achieve its desired location, while the formation controller utilizes the neighbor UAVs’ state and controller information. The theoretical conjecture is verified by simulation results.     

涵道尾座式垂直起降飞行器全包线飞行控制

本文针对一种新型涵道尾座式垂直起降飞行器的非线性控制问题, 提出一种全包线飞行控制方案. 在设计 的控制框架中, 采用统一的坐标系描述该飞行器的多模态特性. 对于不可测量的外部力矩, 设计了辅助系统进行观 测及自适应律进行补偿; 对于可测的合外力, 设计了一种基于加速度测量的拉力/姿态几何解耦方法; 同时, 给出了 保证闭环系统全局指数稳定的充分条件. 最后, 所述控制方案成功应用于一小型涵道尾座式无人机上, 并完成了飞 行器垂直/水平模态转换飞行试验, 验证了所提出方法的有效性.     

A robust constrained model predictive control scheme for norm‐bounded uncertain systems with partial state measurements

A robust model predictive control scheme for a class of constrained norm‐bounded uncertain discrete‐time linear systems is developed under the hypothesis that only partial state measurements are available for feedback. The proposed strategy involves a two‐phase procedure. Initialization phase is devoted to determining an admissible, though not optimal, linear memoryless controller capable to formally address the input rate constraint; then, during on‐line phase, predictive capabilities complement the designed controller by means of N steps free control actions in a receding horizon fashion. These additive control actions are obtained by solving semidefinite programming problems subject to linear matrix inequalities constraints. As computational burden grows linearly with the control horizon length, an example is developed to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach for realistic control problems: the design of a flight control law for a flexible unmanned over‐actuated aircraft, where the states of the flexibility dynamics are not measurable, is discussed, and a numerical implementation of the controller within a nonlinear simulation environment testifies the validity of the proposed approach and the possibility to implement the algorithm on an onboard computer.     

Super‐Twisting Observer‐Based Integral Sliding Mode Control for Tracking the Rapid Acceleration of a Piston in a Hybrid Electro‐Hydraulic and Pneumatic System

A new hybrid electro‐hydraulic and pneumatic actuator system and its dynamic model for high‐performance control are presented. This work focuses on tracking control of rapidly changing acceleration that is an advanced area with various practical applications in industries. The impact motion control of the actuator is one of challenging task due to the system instability during the transition state. Since composite disturbances derived from the inaccurate and unmodeled dynamics considerably reduce the control performance. A novel structure of variable integral sliding mode controls integrated with a sliding mode disturbance observer is proposed based on the super‐twisting algorithm. With the control strategy, not only does the controller overcome the extreme sensitivity of the system during rapid movements, but it also eliminates the internal parameter uncertainties and external load disturbance while tracking rapid gain‐scheduled acceleration. The results of the numerical simulation and field experiment are presented to assess the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

电液伺服系统的多滑模鲁棒自适应控制

针对一类参数与外负载非匹配不确定的非线性高阶系统,提出了一种基于逐步递推方法的多滑模鲁棒自适应控制策略.应用逐步递推的多滑模控制方法简化了高阶系统的控制问题,同时在自适应控制中加入鲁棒控制的方法,以消除不确定性对控制性能的影响.首先利用逐步递推方法与状态反馈精确线性化理论,得出确定系统的多滑模控制器设计方法;然后基于Lyapunov稳定性分析方法,给出不确定系统的参数自适应律,及鲁棒自适应控制器的设计方法.本文把该控制策略应用到电液伺服系统的位置跟踪控制中,仿真结果显示,该控制方法具有较强的鲁棒性及良好的跟踪效果.     

Robust dynamic surface trajectory tracking control for a quadrotor UAV via extended state observer

In this paper, we present an extended state observer–based robust dynamic surface trajectory tracking controller for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle subject to parametric uncertainties and external disturbances. First, the original cascaded dynamics of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle is formulated in a strict form with lumped disturbances to facilitate the backstepping design. Second, based on the separate outer‐ and inner‐loop control methodologies, the extended state observers are constructed to online estimate the unmeasurable velocity states and lumped disturbances existed in translational and rotational dynamics, respectively. Third, to overcome the problem of “explosion of complexity” inherent in backstepping control, the technique of dynamic surface control is utilized for trajectory tracking and attitude stabilization, and with the velocity and disturbance estimates incorporated into the dynamic surface control, a robust dynamic surface flight controller that guarantees asymptotic tracking in the presence of lumped disturbances is synthesized. In addition, the stability analysis is given, showing that the present robust controller can ensure the ultimate boundedness of all signals in the closed‐loop system and make the tracking errors arbitrarily small. Finally, comparisons and extensive simulations under different flight scenarios are performed to validate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed scheme in accurate tracking performance and enhanced antidisturbance capability.     

Asynchronous H∞ Control for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Switched Polytopic System Approach

This study is concerned with the H_∞ control for the full-envelope unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the presence of missing measurements and external disturbances. With the dramatic parameter variations in large flight envelope and the locally overlapped switching laws in flight, the system dynamics is modeled as a locally overlapped switched polytopic system to reduce designing conservatism and solving complexity. Then, considering updating lags of controller's switching signals and the weighted coefficients of the polytopic subsystems induced by missing measurements, an asynchronous H_∞ control method is proposed such that the system is stable and a desired disturbance attenuation level is satisfied. Furthermore, the sufficient existing conditions of the desired switched parameter-dependent H_∞ controller are derived in the form of linear matrix inequality (LMIs) by combining the switched parameter-dependent Lyapunov function method and average dwell time method. Finally, a numerical example based on a highly maneuverable technology (HiMAT) vehicle is given to verify the validity of the proposed method.      

Flexible modelling and altitude control for powered parafoil system based on active disturbance rejection control

For the accurate altitude control of the powered parafoil system, a novel modelling method and control methodology are designed in this paper. Firstly, based on computational fluid dynamics, the proposed model can accurately simulate the actual flight state of the powered parafoil system. Then, the double closed-loop controller based on active disturbance rejection control is designed. With this methodology, the precise altitude control can be realised. By analysing the theory of active disturbance rejection control, the proposed control method will be stable and valid. At last, after the detailed verification in the hardware-in-the-loop simulations, the flight experiment is carried out. After the simulation with the proposed model, the adjusted controller parameters can be applied directly in the actual experiment. The results show that the proposed method can provide effective guidance to the flight experiment. It also proves the validity and effectiveness of the proposed modelling and control method.     

Fractional‐Order Dynamic Output Feedback Sliding Mode Control Design for Robust Stabilization of Uncertain Fractional‐Order Nonlinear Systems

A robust fractional‐order dynamic output feedback sliding mode control (DOF‐SMC) technique is introduced in this paper for uncertain fractional‐order nonlinear systems. The control law consists of two parts: a linear part and a nonlinear part. The former is generated by the fractional‐order dynamics of the controller and the latter is related to the switching control component. The proposed DOF‐SMC ensures the asymptotical stability of the fractional‐order closed‐loop system whilst it is guaranteed that the system states hit the switching manifold in finite time. Finally, numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.