Switched Linear Control of a Model Helicopter

A mini scale helicopter poses a difficult control problem due to its complex dynamics. Compared to its full-size counterparts, the model helicopter exhibits not only increased sensitivity to control inputs and disturbances, but also higher bandwidth of its dynamics. We specifically investigate the control for transition dynamics between hover and cruise by formulating the phenomena as a hybrid system. We consider piecewise quadratic Lyapunov-like functions that leads to linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) characterization for performance analysis and controller synthesis. State jumps of the controller responding to switched of plant dynamics are exploited to improve control performance. The transition control performance is demonstrated by SIMULINK and STATEFLOW and compared to that of LQR approach