Trajectory control of an unmanned Tri-TiltRotor in hover flight via direct longitudinal actuation

Christos Papachristos, Kostas Alexis, Anthony Tzes

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The experimental trajectory control of a Tri- TiltRotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in rotorcraft hovering operation is the subject of this paper. This reconfigurable UAV is designed for autonomous conversion between the Vertical Take- Off and Landing, and the Fixed-Wing flight modes. Via employing the additional control authority gained by rotor-tilting, the full actuation of the UAV longitudinal dynamics is achieved. Based on this novel feature, longitudinal thrust vectoring of the main rotors is performed, and the respective degree-of-freedom is significantly benefited while performing rotorcraft hovering flight. The system custom autopilot is based on a Proportional- Integral-Derivative-double Derivative scheme, exploiting the augmented UAV state vector for control, while the customdeveloped sensor suite and state estimation system provides fully autonomous operation. Extensive experimental studies validate the control scheme's efficiency, while remarking the advantageous effects of the longitudinal thrust vectoring-based control authority.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2013 21st Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation, MED 2013 - Conference Proceedings
Pages369-374
Number of pages6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2013
Event2013 21st Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation, MED 2013 - Platanias-Chania, Crete, Greece
Duration: Jun 25 2013Jun 28 2013

Publication series

Name2013 21st Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation, MED 2013 - Conference Proceedings

Other

Other2013 21st Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation, MED 2013
Country/TerritoryGreece
CityPlatanias-Chania, Crete
Period6/25/136/28/13

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Control and Systems Engineering

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