Nonlinear Control Approaches for an Autonomous Unmanned Robotic Airship

Abstract

[Abstract] This paper presents the research developments for the global nonlinear control of an autonomous airship, covering the full flight envelope from hovering to aerodynamic flight. The preliminary reports for the three nonlinear control solutions under investigation were presented, that are Dynamic Inversion, Backstepping, and the Sliding Mode Control, along with some representative simulation results. A complete airship mission, with vertical take-off, path tracking, hovering, and vertical landing was successfully simulated using the Backstepping Aproach.