A robust reconfigurable control scheme against pose estimation induced time delays

Time delays are one of the most common problems when utilizing a visual sensor for pose estimation or navigation in aerial robotics. Such time delays can grow exponentially as a function of the scene's complexity and the size of the mapping during classical Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) strategies. In this article, a robust reconfigurable control scheme against pose estimation induced time delays is presented. Initially, an experimental verification of the induced time delays via pose estimation is performed for the attitude problem of a hexacopter, while a switching time delay dependent modeling approach is formulated. In addition, a stability analysis algorithm is introduced in order to evaluate the maximum allowable time delays that the target system can handle for a given LQR controller. The varying nature of the time delays results in a switching system with the latency time to play the role of a switching rule, while simulation results are presented to outline the effects of the time-induced delays in hexarotor-based systems and finally evaluate the overall efficiency of the proposed control scheme.