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Full formation control for autonomous helicopter groups

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2008

Farbod Fahimi
Farbod Fahimi*
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G8, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

This paper reports the design of sliding-mode control laws for controlling multiple small-sized autonomous helicopters in arbitrary formations. Two control schemes, which are required for defining arbitrary three-dimensional formation meshes, are discussed. In the presented leader–follower formation control schemes, each helicopter only needs to receive motion information from at most two neighboring helicopters. A nonlinear six-degree-of-freedom dynamic model has been used for each helicopter. Four control inputs, the main and the tail rotor thrusts, and the roll and pitch moments, are assumed. Parameter uncertainty in the dynamic model and wind disturbance are considered in designing the controllers. The effectiveness and robustness of these control laws in the presence of parameter uncertainty in the dynamic model and wind disturbances are demonstrated by computer simulations.

Keywords

Formation controlAutonomous aerial vehicleUnmanned helicopterLeader–followerSliding mode control
Type
Article
Information
Robotica , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , March 2008 , pp. 143 - 156
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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