Landing a quadrotor UAV on a moving platform with sway motion using robust control

Kewei Xia, Minho Shin, Wonmo Chung, Myunggun Kim, Sangheon Lee, Hungsun Son*

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Autonomous landing of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is a critical and challenging issue, especially on a moving target under complex terrain. This paper proposes a practicable solution that consists of a reference trajectory and a robust control strategy. More specifically, a continuous reference trajectory is planned to ensure the safety, where a feasible landing constraint is provided by introducing the sway motion of the target platform. Then, a robust hierarchical control strategy that exploits a saturated force controller and an attitude constraint torque controller is developed, where a dynamics estimator is employed to counteract the uncertain dynamics. Stability analysis indicates that the overall closed-loop system is uniformly ultimately bounded. Since the global positioning system (GPS) fails to provide an acceptable measurement for the precise landing, an ultra-wide band (UWB) positioning system is designed which possesses a 20-centimeter level of accuracy. To simulate a realistic scenario over the rough ground or sea condition, a motion platform with sway motion is utilized in the experiment facility. Flight experiments are performed to validate and assess the proposed strategy.

Original languageEnglish
Article number105288
JournalControl Engineering Practice
Volume128
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

Keywords

  • Attitude constraint
  • Autonomous landing
  • Robust control
  • Ultra-wide band (UWB) positioning system
  • Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

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Xia, K., Shin, M., Chung, W., Kim, M., Lee, S., & Son, H. (2022). Landing a quadrotor UAV on a moving platform with sway motion using robust control. Control Engineering Practice, 128, Article 105288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conengprac.2022.105288