Attitude Control Based on the Lie-group Structure of Unit Quaternions

This paper focuses on a new approach for the attitude control problem. The control laws exploit the Lie-group structure of unit quaternions. Stability analysis relies on an appropriate Lyapunov function. Set point control and tracking control are investigated respectively. Using this approach, not only design and analysis are simplified, but also global approximate exponential convergence is guaranteed. The control laws are demonstrated to be effective by simulation results.