ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we apply the tensor product (TP) model-based approach to derive a controller to stabilize a three degrees of freedom (3-DoF) remote controlled (RC) helicopter. The nonlinear model of the RC helicopter, and its simplified version to facilitate the control design, are presented first. Then, the TP model transformation is executed on the simplified model, upon which the parallel distributed compensation (PDC) framework can be applied. Specifically, we consider the incorporation of three practical control specifications via properly selected linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). They include decay rate control to achieve good speed of response, constraint over the control input of the propellers to avoid actuator saturations, and the design of a robust controller to cover model discrepancies due to model simplification. Numerical studies showing that the resulting controller satisfies the desired control specifications are also conducted. We note that the designed controller here is equivalent to the one derived in [TOW04] that was successfully tested in laboratory experiments. This chapter is based on the work of [BKT09].
