Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Tube-Based Robust MPC Processor-in-the-Loop Validation for Fixed-Wing UAVs

  • Published:
Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Real systems, as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are usually subject to environmental disturbances, which could compromise the mission accomplishment. For this reason, the main idea proposed in this research is the design of a robust controller, as autopilot control system candidate for a fixed-wing UAV. In detail, the inner loop of the autopilot system is designed with a tube-based robust model predictive control (TRMPC) scheme, able to handle additive noise. Moreover, the navigation outer loop is regulated by a proportional-integral-derivative controller. The proposed TRMPC is composed of two parts: (i) a linear nominal dynamics, evaluated online with an optimization problem, and (ii) a linear error dynamics,which includes a feedback gain matrix, evaluated offline. The key aspects of the proposed methodology are: (i) offline evaluation of the feedback gain matrix, and (ii) robustness to random, bounded disturbances. Moreover, a path-following algorithm is designated for the guidance task, which provides the reference heading angle as input to the control algorithm. Software-in-the-loop and processor-in-the-loop simulations have been performed to validate the proposed approach. The obtained performance have been evaluated in terms of tracking capabilities and computational load, assessing the real-time implementability compliance with the XMOS development board, selected as continuation of previous works.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. L. Novaro Mascarello, F. Quagliotti, and G. Ristorto, “A feasibility study of an harmless tiltrotor for smart farming applications,” in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), 2017 International Conference on. IEEE, 2017, pp. 1631–1639

  2. Chao, H., Cao, Y., Chen, Y.: Autopilots for small unmanned aerial vehicles: a survey. Int. J. Control. Autom. Syst. 8(1), 36–44 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. GarcIa, R., Rubio, F., Ortega, M.: Robust pid control of the quadrotor helicopter. IFAC Proceedings Volumes. 45(3), 229–234 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Capello, E., Sartori, D., Guglieri, G., Quagliotti, F.: Robust assessment for the design of multi-loop proportional integrative derivative autopilot. IET Control Theory Applications. 6(11), 1610–1619 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. López, J., Dormido, R., Dormido, S., Gómez, J.: A robust h controller for an uav flight control system. Sci. World J. 6, 2015 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  6. A. Jafar, S. Fasih-UR-Rehman, S. Fazal-UR-Rehman, and N. Ahmed, “H infinity controller for unmanned aerial vehicle against atmospheric turbulence,” Scientific World Journal, vol. 11, no. 4, 2016

  7. B. Bialy, J. Klotz, K. Brink, and W. Dixon, “Lyapunov-based robust adaptive control of a quadrotor uav in the presence of modeling uncertainties,” in 2013 American Control Conference, 2013, pp. 13–18

  8. Dydek, Z., Annaswamy, A., Lavretsky, E.: Adaptive control of quadrotor uavs: a design trade study with flight evaluations. IEEE Trans. Control Syst. Technol. 21(4), 1400–1406 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Dobrokhodov, V., Kaminer, I., Kitsios, I., Xargay, E., Cao, C., Gregory, I., Hovakimyan, N., Valavani, L.: Experimental validation of l1 adaptive control: the rohrs counterexample in flight. J. Guid. Control. Dyn. 34(5), 1311–1328 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Capello, E., Guglieri, G., Marguerettaz, P., Quagliotti, F.: Preliminary assessment of flying and handling qualities for mini-uavs. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems. 65(1), 43–61 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. P. Oettershagen, A. Melzer, S. Leutenegger, K. Alexis, and R. Siegwart, “Explicit model predictive control and l 1-navigation strategies for fixed-wing uav path tracking,” in 22nd Mediterranean Conference on Control and Automation.IEEE, 2014, pp. 1159–1165

  12. T. J. Stastny, A. Dash, and R. Siegwart, “Nonlinear mpc for fixed-wing uav trajectory tracking: Implementation and flight experiments,” in AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, 2017, p. 1512

  13. M. Kamel, T. Stastny, K. Alexis, and R. Siegwart, Model Predictive Control for Trajectory Tracking of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Using Robot Operating System. Springer International Publishing, 2017, pp. 3–39

  14. Alexis, K., Papachristos, C., Siegwart, R., Tzes, A.: Robust model predictive flight control of unmanned rotorcrafts. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems. 81(3), 443–469 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. N. Michel, S. Bertrand, G. Valmorbida, S. Olaru, and D. Dumur, “Design and parameter tuning of a robust model predictive controller for uavs,” in 20th IFAC World Congress, 2017

  16. B. Kouvaritakis and M. Cannon, Model Predictive Control: Classical, Robust and Stochastic. Advanced Textbooks in Control and Signal Processing, Springer, 2015

  17. D. Mayne and J. Rawlings, Model Predictive Control: Theory and Design. Nob Hill Publishing, 2009

  18. M. Mammarella and E. Capello, “A robust mpc-based autopilot for mini uavs,” in 2018 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS).IEEE, 2018, pp. 1227–1235

  19. Capello, E., Guglieri, G., Quagliotti, F., Sartori, D.: Design and validation of an l1 adaptive controller for mini-uav autopilot. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems. 69(1), 109–118 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. G. Vallabha. (2016) Real-time pacer for simulink. [Online]. Available: https://it.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/29107-real-time-pacer-for-simulink

  21. Capello, E., Guglieri, G., Ristorto, G.: Guidance and control algorithms for mini-UAV autopilots. Aircr. Eng. Aerosp. Technol. 89(1), 133–144 (2017)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. M. Mammarella, E. Capello, F. Dabbene, and G. Guglieri, “Sample-Based Smpc for Tracking Control of Fixed-Wing Uav,” IEEE Control Systems Letters, 2018

  23. M. Mammarella, E. Capello, H. Park, and M. Guglieri, G. Romano, “Spacecraft Proximity Operations Via Tube-Based Robust Model Predictive Control with Additive Disturbances,” 2017

  24. T. Erkkinen and M. Conrad, “Verification, Validation, and Test with Model-Based Design,” SAE Technical Paper, Tech. Rep., 2008

  25. E. Capello, G. Guglieri, and F. Quagliotti, “A software tool for mission design and autopilot integration: an application to micro aerial vehicles,” in Proceedings of the 2008 Summer Computer simulation conference. Society for Modeling & Simulation International, 2008, p. 9

  26. Etkin, B., Reid, L.: Dynamics of Flight: Stability and Control. John Wiley and Sons, New York (1996)

    Google Scholar 

  27. G. Padfield, Helicopter Flight Dynamics: the Theory and Application of Flying Qualities and Simulation Modeling. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1996

  28. C. Casarosa, Meccanica del volo. Plus-Pisa University Press, 2004, vol. 1

  29. Stevens, B., Lewis, F.: Aircraft Control and Simulation. John Wiley and Sons, New York (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  30. J. Mina, Z. Flores, E. López, A. Pérez, and J.-H. Calleja, “Processor-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop simulation of electric systems based in fpga,” in 2016 13th International Conference on Power Electronics (CIEP).IEEE, 2016, pp. 172–177

  31. Martins, G., Moses, A., Rutherford, M., Valavanis, K.: Enabling intelligent unmanned vehicles through xmos technology. The Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation. 9(1), 71–82 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. M. Mammarella, E. Capello, H. Park, G. Guglieri, and M. Romano, “Tube-Based Robust Model Predictive Control for Spacecraft Proximity Operations in the Presence of Persistent Disturbance,” Aerospace Science and Technology, 2018

  33. F. Blanchini and S. Miani, Set-Theoretic Methods in Control. Springer, 2008

  34. Stoorvogel, A.A., Saberi, A.: The discrete algebraic riccati equation and linear matrix inequality. Linear Algebra Appl. 274(1–3), 317–365 (1998)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  35. J. Currie, A. Prince-Pike, and D. Wilson, “Auto-code generation for fast embedded model predictive controllers,” in Proc. of International Conference Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice, 2012

  36. S. Wright, “Applying New Optimization Algorithms to Model Predictive Control,” Tech. Rep., 1996

  37. M. Mammarella, M. Lorenzen, E. Capello, H. Park, F. Dabbene, G. Guglieri, M. Romano, and F. Allgöwer, “An Offline-Sampling Smpc Framework with Application to Autonomous Space Maneuvers,” IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 2018

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

    Martina Mammarella & Elisa Capello

  2. Italian National Research Council – IEIIT, Turin, Italy

    Martina Mammarella & Elisa Capello

Authors
  1. Martina Mammarella
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elisa Capello
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martina Mammarella.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Mammarella, M., Capello, E. Tube-Based Robust MPC Processor-in-the-Loop Validation for Fixed-Wing UAVs. J Intell Robot Syst 100, 239–258 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-020-01172-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-020-01172-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation