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Flight Control of Biomimetic Air Vehicles Using Vibrational Control and Averaging

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Abstract

A combination of vibrational inputs and state feedback is applied to control the flight of a biomimetic air vehicle. First, a control strategy is developed for longitudinal flight, using a quasi-steady aerodynamic model and neglecting wing inertial effects. Vertical and forward motion is controlled by modulating the wings’ stroke and feather angles, respectively. Stabilizing control parameter values are determined using the time-averaged dynamic model. Simulations of a system resembling a hawkmoth show that the proposed controller can overcome modeling error associated with the wing inertia and small parameter uncertainties when following a prescribed trajectory. After introducing the approach through an application to longitudinal flight, the control strategy is extended to address flight in three-dimensional space.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the comments of the anonymous reviewers and the support of the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CMMI-1435484. The authors also would like to thank Dr. Haithem Taha for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Sevak Tahmasian

  2. Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA

    Craig A. Woolsey

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  1. Sevak Tahmasian
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  2. Craig A. Woolsey
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Correspondence to Sevak Tahmasian.

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Communicated by Maurizio Porfiri.

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Tahmasian, S., Woolsey, C.A. Flight Control of Biomimetic Air Vehicles Using Vibrational Control and Averaging. J Nonlinear Sci 27, 1193–1214 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00332-016-9334-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00332-016-9334-5

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