Design and Flight Test Evaluation of Guidance System for Autonomous Rotorcraft

Abstract

This paper describes the development and evaluation of a new guidance system for unmanned helicopter. The trajectory planning technique combines a receding horizon trajectory optimization based on mixed-integer linear programming with a global cost-to-go maps computed in near real-time using dynamic programming. The resulting system allows for complex, long-range mission scenarios that involve dynamically changing features. The paper gives a full description of the capabilities and functions supported by the planner software. Hardware-in-the-loop simulations were used to evaluate and demonstrate the system’s performance and capabilities; the flnal paper will also include results from the ∞ight-test demonstration on a Boeing Renegade unmanned helicopter. A signiflcant portion of the technology necessary to realize autonomous guidance systems for unmanned aerial vehicles is software. The DARPA software enabled control (SEC) program was an opportunity to investigate more deeply the software requirements set for by modern control applications such as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) ∞ight control and guidance and their implications for the control engineer. As a follow up to the SEC program, some participating teams were ofiered the opportunity to transfer and ∞ight test demonstrate their technologies on an actual vehicles. First a flxed-wing UAV 1 and second a helicopter capstone demonstration took place. This paper describes the autonomous rotorcraft guidance technology implemented by the rotorcraft team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) along with experimental results. For the demonstration a DARPA-owned (UAV) (Renegade) was used. The Renegade is a full-scale autonomous helicopter derived from the Robinson R-22 airframe. The avionics, onboard computer, and ∞ight software are similar to those that will be used on the Boeing A160 Hummingbird (Figure 1). The goal of this SEC transition program was to provide experimental validation of technologies that enhance the autonomy and reliability UAVs, with the perspective of a transition to existing UAVs like the A160.