2-DOF Helicopter Control Via State Feedback and Full/Reduced-Order Observers

This paper presents an analysis of state feedback control and state estimation applied to the two degrees-of-freedom (2-DOF) helicopter platform Quanser Aero 2 to achieve trajectory tracking control and stabilization. It involves establishing a dynamic model of the Quanser Aero 2 platform using the Euler-Lagrange equations of motion to obtain a MIMO system with four equations of state and two inputs. Then, the design of two state feedback controllers using full and reduced order observers, respectively, to stabilize the Aero 2 system. In practice, not all system states can be directly measured, which affects the control system. Observers can estimate these unmeasured states based on the available measurements and the system's model. Therefore, controllers with observers are implemented in realtime on the Quanser Aero 2 platform and compared to an optimal state feedback control, namely, the linear quadratic regulator (LQR). Experimental results are presented and compared to analyze the performance of 2-DOF helicopter control via state feedback and observer estimation.