Hierarchical control of a small unmanned helicopter using MPC and backstepping

Considering the structural features of unmanned helicopters, the present paper designs a hierarchical inner-outer loop-based controller to solve the trajectory tracking problem. The outer loop employs model predictive controller to track the reference trajectory, while the inner loop controller is designed by means of backstepping techniques that allow stabilization of the attitude. The obtained control method takes advantage of both controllers and it is simple and easy to implement in future real flight test. Finally, the computer simulations are conducted to illustrate the tracking performance of the proposed control method.