An energy based approach to the regulation of a model helicopter near to hover

In this paper a simple Lagrangian model of the mechanical dynamics of a helicopter is presented that incorporates the energy associated with the rotation of the main rotor blades. This is a novel approach in comparison to the existing models proposed in literature. Using the proposed model a passivity based design of a unified path tracking control algorithm is obtained that combines position and `yaw´ regulation with the regulation of the angular velocity of the rotors. The design method uses relative degree matching and dynamic extension to overcome a mismatch of inputs and desired tracking errors with the natural pure feedback structure of the system.