Modelling and control of VTOL UAVs interacting with the environment

Dr. Luca Gentili CASY-DEIS University of Bologna

l.gentili@unibo.it
1 CASY Research Meeting 17/04/2008

Outline
Modelling: interacting with the environment Hybrid model Interaction with a wall: analysis and control Take-Off analysis and control Conclusions

Modelling and control of VTOL UAVs interacting with the environment

Motivating Ideas
Unmanned flying machines interacting with the environment
Take-Off and Landing Indoor flight

Towards Unmanned Flying Robots

Remote manipulation Sample picking

Modelling and control of VTOL UAVs interacting with the environment

Real Problem
Take-off problem
Interaction with horizontal surfaces (ground or possible hostile terrain)

Causes
Non smooth surface Not perfectly horizontal Simple Jump-Start maneuver
Open loop propeller step
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CASY UAV
The system could be divided into three separated subsystems:
1) A fixed pitch propeller powered by electric motor
Ducted fan structure to
Protect the environment from moving parts, allowing interaction which objects and human beings in order to extend the set of applications. Improve the efficiency of the propeller

2) A set of actuated control surfaces

Profiled surfaces driven by a servo controller

3) Proper avionics hardware, sensor board and CPU board

Modeling and Control of a Ducted Fan Miniature Aerial Vehicle: Preliminary Experimental Results 5

Modelling
Framework able to describe the system both in free flight conditions and in contacts with rigid surfaces
Free Flight Landed Interaction with horizontal surface Interaction with vertical surface

Simplification: 2-d model

Modelling and control of VTOL UAVs interacting with the environment

Modelling
Framework able to describe the system both in free flight conditions and in contacts with rigid surfaces
Free Flight Landed Interaction with horizontal surface Interaction with vertical surface

Simplification: 2-d model Hybrid modelling!

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Free flight model

Modelling and control of VTOL UAVs interacting with the environment

Free flight model

Model simplification: 2 control inputs
Propeller thrust Flap angle of attack

Two controllable forces acting on the system

Thrust Attitude lift force

Newton-Euler equations of motion

Modelling and control of VTOL UAVs interacting with the environment

Constrained model
Landing gear in contact with horizontal or vertical surfaces
Landing gear able to slide along the surface Overall system able to rotate around the contact point

Inverted pendulum on a cart-like system

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Horizontal surface
Constraint Generalized coordinates

Friction acting on P1
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Horizontal surface
System dynamics described by Lagrangian equations

with

Reaction from the ground on P1

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Vertical surface
Constraint Generalized coordinates

Friction acting on P1
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Vertical surface
System dynamics described by Lagrangian equations

with

Reaction from the wall on P1

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Hybrid dynamical model

Hybrid state of the system L: Landed FF: Free Flight SS: Set-Stand
contact with vertical surface

ToL: Take-off and Landing

contact with horizontal surface

O: Overturned
Faulty state after unsuccessful take-off
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Hybrid dynamical model

Hybrid state conditions

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Hybrid dynamical model

Hybrid automata [Henzinger, Lygeros]

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Hybrid dynamical model

Guard conditions mainly depending also on and hence depends on control inputs Discontinuous state reset considering
Inelastic hit Conservation of momentum

Hybrid automata defined for specific control purposes

No bouncing considered Only initial state with physical meaning is allowed Theoretically, the hybrid system could be considered not well posed
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Hybrid model and control

Advances needed:
Better formalization Should capture even bouncing Hit modelling and hysteresis

The model appears adequate for specific control purposes

Define transition trajectories
E.g. from FF to SS, from SS to SS, from L to FF

Control objective is to maintain system in a specific configuration

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Interaction with walls

Objectives are
Define suitable approaching trajectories (from FF to SS) Define control action to perform tasks in SS condition
Tracking task for the contact point with a desired attitude angle

Equilibrium analysis
Mechanical design hints

Control design
Suitable approaching trajectories Attractive domain when in SS configuration
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Equilibrium analysis
Considering a generic equilibrium Compute control actions SS hybrid state guard should be >0

Structurally

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Mechanical Design
To perform task in SS configuration a suitable mechanical design is necessary
Aerodynamic lift force must act below contact point Contact point nearer to center mass projection

Design example

Modelling and control of VTOL UAVs interacting with the environment

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Mechanical Design
This results is involuntary confirmed by old experiments

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Tracking control design

Design a control law such that
With suitable initial condition the system will remain in SS configuration (guard )
Trajectory from FF to SS

System asymptotically track a trajectory

Preliminary positions
System model in SS conf. can be rewritten as

New control inputs

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Tracking control design

Control design idea
Define a suitable set and the trajectory to be tracked
Guard condition depends on the control input!!!

Design the control to make the set invariant and to asymptotically track the trajectory
Lyapunov based design

Once control inputs are defined it is possible to study guard condition

Conditions on initial states to make SS configuration invariant Conditions on the transition from FF to SS
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Tracking control design

Trajectory defined s.t. guard satisfied in steady state

Error coordinates Control design to decuple system and to make Lyapunov functions
LaSalle invariance principle

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Tracking control design

Lyapunov design implies state evolution properties

Guard evolution condition if

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Tracking control design

Conditions on trajectory to be tracked and initial conditions
Approach trajectory from FF to SS Conservation of momentum bind initial conditions and velocity/attitude during FF We are able to define free flight maneuver with constant velocity and attitude towards the wall

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Simulation results
From FF to SS
Constant translation velocity, constant attitude and altitude Wall approached at time t=0 From time t=0 system should track the trajectory remaining constrained to the wall

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Simulation results

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Main issues
Lyapunov design with quadratic functions brings conservative conditions
Possible advance: barrier Lyapunov function

Robustness issue: decoupling control exploit the knowledge of system parameters

Friction parameter
Stability assured with steady state tracking error

Possible solution: simple adaptation law

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Adaptive design
unknown but ranging in known compact set Again Lyapunov based design with quadratic functions

Conditions to make SS configuration invariant: tracking trajectories, initial states and knowledge of friction parameter
Very conservative!
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Simulation results

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Take-Off maneuver
Theory vs Practice
Horizontal ground vs hostile ground When landed, thrust propeller causes disturbance lateral forces To take-off should be sufficient to raise thrust propeller to counteract gravity force

Impossible to change propeller thrust instantaneously

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Take-Off maneuver
From Landed configuration, raising thrust propeller it is impossible to switch to FF directly
L to ToL configuration

Simplification
Ground friction is high in ToL configuration Simplified dynamic: overall system able only to rotate around the contact point

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Take-Off maneuver
Control idea: stop the propeller when the system is going toward overturning
Define a set of position/velocity s.t. if no control is acting the system from ToL configuration will came back to L without overturning. Definition of limit angular velocity in function of angle

Numerical analysis to define a set of safe couples (angle, velocity), its complement and limit values
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Hybrid Take-Off controller

Controller stops control actions when limit condition are reached Attitude control is designed to maximize the the projection of the total force on the vertical axis
Minimizing the propeller thrust value to take-off
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Main issues
Open loop control
Possible advance is to look for a closed loop control for the attitude control in order to prevent as much as possible the overturn

Numerical solution to define safe and unsafe sets

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Conclusions
Interacting with the environment:
hybrid model

Take-Off: analysis and control Interaction with a wall: analysis and control Possible advances
Hybrid design Barrier Lyapunov functions
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