ARF60 AUS-UAV modeling, system identification, guidance and control: Validation through hardware in the loop simulation

Automatic control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has been a growing area of research in aerospace technology for a long time, yet this area needs a great deal of development in order to get a reliable autonomous system capable of performing all types of maneuvers with high degree of stability and desired performance. In this paper, the development and building of a fully functioning test bed UAV platform is illustrated. The test-bed includes an enhanced hardware in the loop simulation “HILS” system to facilitate the development of the flight control system (FCS). Furthermore, the design of the guidance laws, autopilots implementation on the embedded system were integrated with the Hardware in the Loop Simulation (HILS). Finally, trajectory following results were demonstrated.