Visual servoing using linear features for under-actuated rigid body dynamics

An image-based 'eye-in-hand' type visual servoing control design is presented for under-actuated rigid body dynamics. The dynamic model considered is often used to model the dynamics of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) such as helicopters and aeroplanes. The task considered is that of tracking parallel linear visual features. The proposed design exploits the geometry of the task considered and passivity-like properties of rigid body dynamics to derive a Lyapunov control algorithm using backstepping design techniques.