Hernandez Ramirez, Juan Carlos (McGill University), Nahon, Meyer (McGill University)

Pilot-Assist Landing System for Hover-Capable Fixed-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in All Flight Regimes

Scheduled for presentation during the Regular Session "Control Design V" (FrB2), Friday, June 18, 2021, 12:40−13:00, Kozani

2021 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), June 15-18, 2021, Athens, Greece

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on April 19, 2024

Abstract

This work presents an integrated guidance and control system designed to assist a remote human operator during the landing operation of a hover-capable fixed-wing aircraft. These platforms are capable of both conventional, steady flight and thrust-borne maneuvering, but are challenging to pilot. The proposed pilot-assist system is valid for both flight regimes, including transitions between them, and enables the pilot to intuitively adjust the landing approach, reposition if necessary, and select between conventional and vertical landing. The control system is constructed around a nonlinear SO(3) attitude control system, together with a nonlinear position controller valid for all flight regimes. A guidance algorithm is developed around the control system that translates pilot inputs into references in an intuitive manner. System performance is verified through numerical simulation using a high-fidelity model of an agile fixed-wing aircraft. Results show the proposed system enables a remote operator to safely land the aircraft while retaining high level authority during the procedure.