Predictive sliding mode control for small-scale unmanned helicopter

A predictive sliding mode controller (PSMC) for the position control of a small-scale unmanned helicopter with nonlinear structure is designed. First, the nonlinear model of the helicopter is reformulated as an affine nonlinear system. Then, predictive sliding mode control law derived by defining a sliding surface and minimizing the quadratic performance index of the predictive control. The mathematical proof using Lyapunov stability theorem shows that the closed loop system is asymptotically stable in the presence of this controller. To verify the robustness and stability of the proposed controller, it is compared with conventional sliding mode controller. The chattering phenomenon is attenuated significantly and the position error is also alleviated. The simulation results confirm the desirable performance of proposed predictive sliding mode controller.

Keywords:

Predictive control , Sliding mode control , Unmanned helicopter , Lyapunov stability