Robust Nonlinear Control Based on Disturbance Observer for a Small-Scale Unmanned Helicopter

Abstract

A robust nonlinear controller based on disturbance observer for the trajectory tracking control of a small-scale unmanned helicopter with nonlinear structure under external disturbances and parameter uncertainties is designed. The control objective is to let the helicopter track a predefined trajectory. The proposed robust nonlinear controller is based on the backstepping sliding mode control technique which combines both the capabilities of backstepping control and sliding mode control. The control performance developed based on a time-varying disturbance observer. In order to obtain an efficient control law design, the nonlinear model of the helicopter is reformulated as an affine nonlinear system. The mathematical proof using Lyapunov stability theorem shows that the closed loop system is asymptotically stable in the presence of this controller. To verify the robustness and stability of the proposed controller, it is compared with conventional sliding mode controller. The chattering phenomenon is attenuated significantly and the tracking error is also alleviated. The simulation results confirm the desirable performance of proposed robust nonlinear controller.