Development of an autonomous control system for a small fixed pitch helicopter

Owen McAree, Jonathan Clarke, Wen Hua Chen

Research output: Chapter in book / Conference proceedingConference article published in proceeding or bookAcademic researchpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The indoor test bed of the Autonomous Systems Laboratory has been used to create a control system for a small fixed pitch helicopter. This paper outlines the challenges posed by such a vehicle and the control system designed to overcome them. The control system utilized a visual tracking system to obtain state information without onboard hardware. Matlab/Simulink environment was used to facilitate rapid prototyping control development. An autopilot consisting of multi-channel PID controllers was implemented for flight tests. Failsafe strategies and gain scheduling were both investigated and implemented with the use of a graphical user interface. A number of flight tests were conducted and the results are provided. The future work of the laboratory is also covered.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings - 2nd IEEE International Conference on Advanced Computer Control, ICACC 2010
Pages13-17
Number of pages5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes
Event2010 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Computer Control, ICACC 2010 -
Duration: 27 Mar 201029 Mar 2010

Publication series

NameProceedings - 2nd IEEE International Conference on Advanced Computer Control, ICACC 2010
Volume3

Conference

Conference2010 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Computer Control, ICACC 2010
Period27/03/1029/03/10

Keywords

  • Autopilot
  • Flight test
  • Gain scheduling
  • Helicopter
  • Tracking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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