Abstract-In this paper, we propose a new quaternion-based feedback control scheme for exponential attitude stabilization of a four-rotor vertical takeoff and landing aerial robot known as a quadrotor aircraft. The proposed controller is based upon the compensation of the Coriolis and gyroscopic torques and the use of a PD 2 feedback structure, where the proportional action is in terms of the vector quaternion and the two derivative actions are in terms of the airframe angular velocity and the vector quaternion velocity. We also show that the model-independent PD controller, where the proportional action is in terms of the vector-quaternion and the derivative action is in terms of the airframe angular velocity, without compensation of the Coriolis and gyroscopic torques, provides asymptotic stability for our problem. The proposed controller as well as some other controllers have been tested experimentally on a small-scale quadrotor aircraft.Index Terms-Attitude stabilization, nonlinear control, quadrotor, rigid body in space, vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft.

Abstract-In this note, we propose a quaternion-based dynamic output feedback for the attitude tracking problem of a rigid body without velocity measurement. Our approach consists of introducing an auxiliary dynamical system whose output (which is also a unit quaternion) is used in the control law together with the unit quaternion representing the attitude tracking error. Roughly speaking, the necessary damping that would have been achieved by the direct use of the angular velocity can be achieved, in our approach, by the vector partq of the error signal between the output of the auxiliary system and the unit quaternion tracking error. The resulting velocity-free control scheme guarantees almost global 1 asymptotic stability which is as strong as the topology of the motion space can permit. In the regulation case, our control law is a pure quaternion feedback (i.e., consisting of two terms that are vector parts of unit-quaternion), and hence, the control torques are naturally bounded by the control gains. Simulation results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

Abstract-We consider the coordinated attitude control problem for a group of spacecraft, without velocity measurements. Our approach is based on the introduction of auxiliary dynamical systems (playing the role of velocity observers in a certain sense) to generate the individual and relative damping terms in the absence of the actual angular velocities and relative angular velocities. Our main focus, in this technical note, is to address the following two problems: 1) Design a velocity-free attitude tracking and synchronization control scheme, that allows the team members to align their attitudes and track a time-varying reference trajectory (simultaneously). 2) Design a velocity-free synchronization control scheme, in the case where no reference attitude is specified, and all spacecraft are required to reach a consensus by aligning their attitudes with the same final time-varying attitude. In this work, one important and novel feature (besides the non-requirement of the angular velocity measurements), consists in the fact that the control torques are naturally bounded and the designer can arbitrarily assign the desired bounds on the control torques, a priori, through the control gains, regardless of the angular velocities. Throughout this technical note, the communication flow between spacecraft is assumed to be undirected. Simulation results of a scenario of four spacecraft are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes.

No abstract

No abstract