Trajectory Tracking Control Design for Autonomous Helicopters with Guaranteed Error Bounds

TL;DR

This paper develops a formal framework for computing guaranteed trajectory tracking error bounds for autonomous helicopters using RPI sets, enhancing safety and planning accuracy.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic method to compute explicit error bounds for helicopter trajectory tracking using invariant set theory, with comparative analysis of controller architectures.

Findings

All controllers respect the derived error bounds.

Trade-offs exist between conservatism and tracking performance.

Simulation confirms the effectiveness of the approach.

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic framework for computing formally guaranteed trajectory tracking error bounds for autonomous helicopters based on Robust Positive Invariant (RPI) sets. The approach focuses on establishing a closed-loop translational error dynamics which is cast into polytopic linear parameter-varying form with bounded additive and state-dependent disturbances. Ellipsoidal RPI sets are computed, yielding explicit position error bounds suitable as certified buffer zones in upper-level trajectory planning. Three controller architectures are compared with respect to the conservatism of their error bounds and tracking performance. Simulation results on a nonlinear helicopter model demonstrate that all architectures respect the derived bounds, while highlighting trade-offs between dynamical fidelity and conservatism in invariant set computation.