Indoor Hovering Control of Small Ducted-fan Type OAV Using Ultrasonic Positioning System

Abstract

This study focused on a development of attitude stabilization and a position (hovering) control scheme of the SFR (Small Flying Robot). The platform type of the SFR is a ducted-fan type OAV having a diameter of 30 cm. The attitude of the SFR was successfully stabilized by a PD control method. In the attitude control loop, the feedback states were angle and angular rates, which were outputs from an AHRS (Attitude Heading Reference System). The position of the SFR was controlled precisely by the LQI (Linear Quadratic Integration) method with a Kalman filter. In the position control loop, an ultrasonic positioning system was used for the 3D position reference, which was developed in a previous research. The proposed simple mathematical model could analyze dynamics and stability of the SFR. Also, the stabilities of the attitude control and the precision of the position control were verified by comparing and analyzing data of experiments and simulations.