Motion planning and control of a simplified helicopter model based on virtual holonomic constraints

In this paper we consider the motion planning and control problem of an underactuated 3DOF rigid body. The dynamics of a particular experimental setup as abstraction of the rotational degrees of freedom of a helicopter is studied. The virtual holonomic constraints approach serves as analytical tool to plan various periodic motions of the system, where a synchronization pattern among the generalized coordinates can be specified and a trajectory is obtained from reduced order dynamics. The controller design is based on a transverse linearization along a desired trajectory and ensures exponential orbital stability. Convergence to a desired motion is confirmed via numerical simulations.