Abdelhamid Tayebi

Attitude stabilization of a VTOL quadrotor aircraft

In this paper, we propose a new quaternion-based feedback control scheme for exponential attitude stabilization of a four-rotor vertical takeoff and landing aerial robot known as a quadrotor aircraft. The proposed controller is based upon the compensation of the Coriolis and gyroscopic torques and the use of a PD/sup 2/ feedback structure, where the proportional action is in terms of the vector quaternion and the two derivative actions are in terms of the airframe angular velocity and the vector quaternion velocity. We also show that the model-independent PD controller, where the proportional action is in terms of the vector-quaternion and the derivative action is in terms of the airframe angular velocity, without compensation of the Coriolis and gyroscopic torques, provides asymptotic stability for our problem. The proposed controller as well as some other controllers have been tested experimentally on a small-scale quadrotor aircraft.

Unit Quaternion-Based Output Feedback for the Attitude Tracking Problem

In this note, we propose a quaternion-based dynamic output feedback for the attitude tracking problem of a rigid body without velocity measurement. Our approach consists of introducing an auxiliary dynamical system whose output (which is also a unit quaternion) is used in the control law together with the unit quaternion representing the attitude tracking error. Roughly speaking, the necessary damping that would have been achieved by the direct use of the angular velocity can be achieved, in our approach, by the vector part \mathtilde q of the error signal between the output of the auxiliary system and the unit quaternion tracking error. The resulting velocity-free control scheme guarantees almost global asymptotic stability which is as strong as the topology of the motion space can permit. In the regulation case, our control law is a pure quaternion feedback (i.e., consisting of two terms that are vector parts of unit-quaternion), and hence, the control torques are naturally bounded by the control gains. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Attitude Synchronization of a Group of Spacecraft Without Velocity Measurements

We consider the coordinated attitude control problem for a group of spacecraft, without velocity measurements. Our approach is based on the introduction of auxiliary dynamical systems (playing the role of velocity observers in a certain sense) to generate the individual and relative damping terms in the absence of the actual angular velocities and relative angular velocities. Our main focus, in this technical note, is to address the following two problems: 1) Design a velocity-free attitude tracking and synchronization control scheme, that allows the team members to align their attitudes and track a time-varying reference trajectory (simultaneously). 2) Design a velocity-free synchronization control scheme, in the case where no reference attitude is specified, and all spacecraft are required to reach a consensus by aligning their attitudes with the same final time-varying attitude. In this work, one important and novel feature (besides the non-requirement of the angular velocity measurements), consists in the fact that the control torques are naturally bounded and the designer can arbitrarily assign the desired bounds on the control torques, a priori, through the control gains, regardless of the angular velocities. Throughout this technical note, the communication flow between spacecraft is assumed to be undirected. Simulation results of a scenario of four spacecraft are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes.

On consensus algorithms for double-integrator dynamics without velocity measurements and with input constraints ✩

This note deals with consensus strategy design for double-integrator dynamics. Specifically, we consider the case where the control inputs are required to be a priori bounded and the velocity (second state) is not available for feedback. Two different design methods are proposed. First, based on the auxiliary system approach, we propose a consensus algorithm that extends some of the existing results in the literature to account for actuator saturations and the lack of velocity measurement. The proposed velocity-free control scheme, using local information exchange, achieves consensus among the team members with an a priori bounded control law, whose upper bound depends on the number of neighbors of the vehicle. Second, we propose another approach based on the use of a high order dynamic auxiliary system such that the upper bound of the control law is independent of the number of neighbors of the vehicle, and the performance of the closed loop system is improved in terms of the response damping. Finally, simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Attitude stabilization of a four-rotor aerial robot

In this paper, we propose a quaternion-based feedback control scheme for exponential attitude stabilization of a four-rotor vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial robot known as the quadrotor aircraft. The proposed controller is based upon the compensation of the Coriolis and gyroscopic torques and the use of a PD/sup 2/ feedback structure, where the proportional action is in terms of the quaternion vector and the two derivative actions are in terms of the airframe angular velocity and the quaternion velocity. We also show that the model-independent PD controller, where the proportional action is in terms of the quaternion vector and the derivative action is in terms of the airframe angular velocity, without compensation of the Coriolis and gyroscopic torques, provides asymptotic stability for our problem. Simulation results are also provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Formation control of VTOL Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with communication delays

The formation control problem of a team of Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with communication delays is addressed. Based on the extraction algorithm presented in Abdessameud and Tayebi (2010a), we propose a new design methodology that simplifies the design of formation control laws with delayed communication for this class of under-actuated systems. Three control schemes are presented that provide delay-dependent and delay-independent results with constant and time-varying communication delays. The stability of the overall closed loop system in each scheme is established using Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals. The proposed design methodology achieves global results in terms of the position and removes the requirement of the linear-velocity measurements. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes.

Brief paper: Global trajectory tracking control of VTOL-UAVs without linear velocity measurements

This paper deals with the position control of Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) without linear velocity measurements. We propose a multistage constructive procedure, exploiting the cascade property of the translational and rotational dynamics. More precisely, we consider the force as a virtual control input for the translational dynamics, from which we extract the required (desired) system attitude and thrust achieving the tracking objective. Thereafter, the control torque is designed to drive the actual attitude to the desired one. A nonlinear observer, as well as some instrumental auxiliary variables are used to obviate the need for the linear velocity. Global asymptotic stability of the overall closed loop system is achieved. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

A Unified Adaptive Iterative Learning Control Framework for Uncertain Nonlinear Systems

In this note, we propose a unified framework for adaptive iterative learning control design for uncertain nonlinear systems. It is shown that if a Lyapunov based adaptive control law is available for the system under consideration and the Lyapunov function satisfies certain conditions, it is straightforward to extend the adaptive controller to handle repetitive systems operating over a finite time interval. According to the value of a certain parameter γ, the parametric adaptation law can be a pure time-domain adaptation, a pure iteration-domain adaptation or a combination of both.A pure iteration-domain adaptation is described by a difference equation, a pure time-domain adaptation is described by a differential equation, and a combination of both is described by a differential-difference equation. The advantages and disadvantages of the three possible adaptation types are discussed and some illustrative examples are given.

Adaptive Position Tracking of VTOL UAVs

An adaptive position tracking control scheme is proposed for vertical thrust propelled unmanned airborne vehicles (UAVs) in the presence of external disturbances. As an intermediary step, the system attitude is used to direct the thrust towards the position target. Instrumental in our control design, an extraction method allowing to obtain the desired attitude and thrust from the required force driving the system towards the desired position, is proposed. Finally, the control torque is designed for the overall system to achieve the tracking objective. The proposed controller ensures global asymptotic stability of the overall closed loop system.

On consensus algorithms design for double integrator dynamics

This paper considers the consensus problem of double integrator multi-agent systems where: (i) each agent is subject to input saturations, and (ii) the velocity (second state) of each agent is not available for feedback. We present new consensus algorithms that handle simultaneously the above mentioned situations. Sufficient conditions are derived such that consensus algorithms developed for first- and second-order multi-agent systems in ideal situations can be used to account for input saturations and remove the requirement of velocity measurements. To illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, we propose solutions to two different second-order consensus problems in the case where the input is saturated and the velocity states are not available for feedback and simulation results are provided in each case.