Developing a Framework for Control of Agile Aircraft Platforms in Autonomous Hover

Abstract

This thesis extends previous work on autonomous agile aircraft to develop a framework for control in both linear and non-linear flight profiles. Two dynamical systems are considered, a scale YAK-54 aerobatic remote control aircraft and the Flexrotor concept developed by Aerovel. Both models are capable of hover and level flight, requiring complex control transitions between the flight regimes. Linear controllers are developed for both models in a hover configuration. Open-loop control sequences for the transitions from hover to level flight and back are discussed. All controllers are optimized, and robustness considered; additionally, a procedure for providing near optimal non-linear control sequences is proposed. Finally, a general framework for generating control laws of agile aircraft systems is put forth. Simulation results are shown to support the theoretical analysis.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA496235

Entities

People

  • Kyle J. Krogh

Organizations

  • University of Washington

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Algorithms
  • Autonomous Systems
  • Computer Programs
  • Fixed Wing Aircraft
  • Linear Systems
  • Machine Learning
  • Micro Air Vehicles
  • Nonlinear Dynamics
  • Reinforcement Learning
  • Rotary Wing Aircraft
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • Unmanned Systems
  • Vehicles

Readers

  • Adaptive Control and Estimation with Uncertainty in Dynamic Systems.
  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.
  • Robotics and Automation.