Global discrete-time stabilization of the PVTOL aircraft based on fast predictive control

Abstract

This paper deals with stabilization control of a non-minimum phase under-actuated Planar Vertical Take-Off and Landing (PVTOL) aircraft. The proposed control approach, inspired from that proposed in Poulin et al. (2007), is based on a discrete time model of the PVTOL and receding horizon technique to take into account constraints on the control inputs (positivity and boundedness). State constraints can also be handled. The computational cost is reduced by decoupling the optimization problem into two QP problems of reduced dimensions. The minimized cost functions proposed here extends the previous work by allowing state and control weight. The proposed control approach is illustrated through simulation case studies including stabilization and robustness towards parameters uncertainties.