Multiple Model Adaptive Fault-Tolerant Control of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 37, Issue 1
Abstract
This paper presents a method for fault-tolerant control of small fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The proposed design is based on multiple-model adaptive control. The controller is composed of a nominal reference model and a set of suboptimal reference models. The nominal model is the one with desired dynamics that are optimal regarding specific criteria. In a suboptimal model, the performance criteria are reduced; it is also designed to ensure system robustness in the presence of critical failures. The controller was tested in simulations, which revealed that the multiple model adaptive controller stabilizes the system in the case of inversion of the control input, while the adaptive controller with a single nominal model fails.
Practical Applications
Small drones or UAVs, with wingspans less than 2 m and payloads smaller than 2 kg, are generally built based on commercial radio-controlled (RC) airplanes. Small UAVs are gaining growing interest because of their low cost, high maneuverability, and simple maintenance. Autonomy, although relative because UAVs are still operated under human supervision, is the main feature of small UAVs compared with RC airplanes. Autonomy has been made possible through the development of advanced autopilot (flight control) systems. They are used for a wide range of military and civilian tasks, such as inspection, detection, transportation, monitoring, search and rescue, photography, imaging, mapping, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, agriculture, entertainment, etc. However, small UAVs are generally built with low-cost components and materials, which increases the probability of occurrence of faults and failures. The proposed flight control solution permits one to maintain the UAVs in flight in the presence of hard failure, while other approaches fail. Therefore, the mission can be safely terminated, either automatically or manually. Alternatively, it can also be decided to complete the operation in degraded (limited) mode. Therefore, this solution is recommended for the operation of drones, especially in urban environments that require a high degree of safety and reliability.
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Data Availability Statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
I would like to express my gratitude to my Ph.D. supervisor Prof. Walter Fichter, University of Stuttgart, for his guidance and detailed advice through the elaboration of this research. I would also like to express my appreciation to my thesis referee Prof. Florian Holzapfel for his insights and comments.
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Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 37 • Issue 1 • January 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 3, 2022
Accepted: Sep 1, 2023
Published online: Nov 9, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Apr 9, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Adaptive systems
- Aerospace engineering
- Aircraft and spacecraft
- Aircraft wings
- Analysis (by type)
- Case studies
- Engineering fundamentals
- Equipment and machinery
- Failure analysis
- Methodology (by type)
- Models (by type)
- Research methods (by type)
- Simulation models
- Systems engineering
- Systems management
- Unmanned vehicles
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