Elements of Control Design

Abstract

An accurate vehicle model like our identified linear model opens the door for a range of model-based control design methodologies. The control design method has an influence on the performance that can be attained. At the same time, it defines how the design problem is posed, what information is needed from the system, and what tools (and knowledge) are necessary to solve it. For example, a robust H ∞ control approach will likely yield the best performance a linear controller can achieve. However, to do so, it will require a highly accurate model of the system. On the other end, a classical controller can be setup very quickly, without the need for a model. For a complex system like a rotorcraft, it will yield performance significantly inferior to that of a competing H ∞ design. However, with some better understanding of the vehicle dynamics the potential of a classical architecture can be significantly enhanced.