A nonlinear trajectory tracking controller for helicopters: Design and experimental evaluation

Abstract

This paper addresses the design and experimental evaluation of a controller to steer a helicopter along a desired trajectory. The controller is designed based on Lyapunov's method and backstepping technique. Control laws for thrust and angular velocity are presented that guarantee the convergence of the trajectory tracking error to zero for a simplified helicopter model. Experimental results, which include the helicopter tracking an ellipse, are presented to assess the validity and performance of the proposed controller.