Design and implementation of robust flight control system for a small-scale UAV helicopter

Abstract

The primary focus of this work is to design and implement a robust automatic flight control system for a small-scale unmanned helicopter. A comprehensive nonlinear model for the unmanned system, which is constructed by our research team at the National University of Singapore, is first derived and presented. Based on its linearized model, a robust automatic flight control system is then designed by employing H∞ control and dynamic inversion techniques. Design specifications for military rotorcraft set for the US army aviation are adopted throughout the whole process to guarantee a top level performance. The result of actual flight tests shows our design is very successful. The unmanned helicopter system is capable of achieving a top level performance in accordance with the military standard in most of the categories under examination. ©2009 ACA.