Trajectory Tracking of a 3DOF Laboratory Helicopter Under Input and State Constraints

This brief deals with the tracking control design of a helicopter laboratory experimental setup. In order to be able to realize highly dynamic flight maneuvers, both input and state constraints have to be systematically accounted for within the control design procedure. The mathematical model being considered constitutes a nonlinear mathematical mechanical system with two control inputs and three degrees of freedom. The control concept consists of an inversion-based feedforward controller for trajectory tracking and a feedback controller for the trajectory error dynamics. The design of the feedforward controller for a point-to-point flight maneuver is traced back to the solution of a 2-point boundary value problem in the Byrnes-Isidori normal form of the mathematical model. By utilizing special saturation functions, the given constraints in the inputs and states can be systematically incorporated in the overall design process. In order to capture model uncertainties and external disturbance, an optimal state feedback controller is designed on the basis of the model linearization along the desired trajectories. The proposed control scheme is implemented in a real-time environment, and the feasibility and the excellent performance are demonstrated by means of experimental results.