Fully distributed time-varying formation tracking control for multiple quadrotor vehicles via finite-time convergent extended state observer

This paper investigates a time-varying anti-disturbance formation problem for a group of quadrotor aircrafts with time-varying uncertainties and a directed interaction topology. A novel Finite-Time Convergent Extended State Observer (FTCESO) based fully-distributed formation control scheme is proposed to enhance the disturbance rejection and the formation tracking performances for networked quadrotors. By adopting the hierarchical control strategy, the multi-quadrotor system is separated into two subsystems: the outer-loop cooperative subsystem and the inner-loop attitude subsystem. In the outer-loop subsystem, with the estimation of disturbing forces and uncertain dynamics from FTCESOs, an adaptive consensus theory based cooperative controller is exploited to ensure the multiple quadrotors form and maintain a time-varying pattern relying only on the positions of the neighboring aircrafts. In the inner-loop subsystem, the desired attitude generated by the cooperative control law is stably tracked under a FTCESO-based attitude controller in a finite time. Based on a detailed algorithm to specify the cooperative control protocol, the feasibility condition to achieve the time-varying anti-disturbance formation tracking is derived and the rigorous analysis of the whole closed-loop multi-quadrotor system is given. Some numerical examples are conducted to intuitively demonstrate the effectiveness and the improvements of the proposed control framework.     

A survey of safety separation management and collision avoidance approaches of civil UAS operating in integration national airspace system

Recent years have witnessed a booming of the industry of civil Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). As an emerging industry, the UAS industry has been attracting great attention from governments of all countries and the aviation industry. UAS are highly digitalized, informationized, and intelligent; therefore, their integration into the national airspace system has become an important trend in the development of civil aviation. However, the complexity of UAS operation poses great challenges to the traditional aviation regulatory system and technical means. How to prevent collisions between UASs and between UAS and manned aircraft to achieve safe and efficient operation in the integrated operating airspace has become a common challenge for industry and academia around the world. In recent years, the international community has carried out a great amount of work and experiments in the air traffic management of UAS and some of the key technologies. This paper attempts to make a review of the UAS separation management and key technologies in collision avoidance in the integrated airspace, mainly focusing on the current situation of UAS Traffic Management (UTM), safety separation standards, detection system, collision risk prediction, collision avoidance, safety risk assessment, etc., as well as an analysis of the bottlenecks that the current researches encountered and their development trends, so as to provide some insights and references for further research in this regard. Finally, this paper makes a further summary of some of the research highlights and challenges.     

Fault mode probability factor based fault-tolerant control for dissimilar redundant actuation system

This paper presents a Fault Mode Probability Factor (FMPF) based Fault-Tolerant Control (FTC) strategy for multiple faults of Dissimilar Redundant Actuation System (DRAS) composed of Hydraulic Actuator (HA) and Electro-Hydrostatic Actuator (EHA). The long-term service and severe working conditions can result in multiple gradual faults which can ultimately degrade the system performance, resulting in the system model drift into the fault state characterized with parameter uncertainty. The paper proposes to address this problem by using the historical statistics of the multiple gradual faults and the proposed FMPF to amend the system model with parameter uncertainty. To balance the system model precision and computation time, a Moving Window (MW) method is used to determine the applied historical statistics. The FMPF based FTC strategy is developed for the amended system model where the system estimation and Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) are updated at the end of system sampling period. The simulations of DRAS system subjected to multiple faults have been performed and the results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Topology optimization in lightweight design of a 3D-printed flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle

Topology optimization is an effective method to obtain a lightweight structure that meets the requirements of structural strength. Whether the optimization results meet the actual needs mainly depends on the accuracy of the material properties and the boundary conditions, especially for a tiny Flapping-wing Micro Aerial Vehicle (FMAV) transmission system manufactured by 3D printing. In this paper, experimental and numerical computation efforts were undertaken to gain a reliable topology optimization method for the bottom of the transmission system. First, the constitutive behavior of the ultraviolet (UV) curable resin used in fabrication was evaluated. Second, a numerical computation model describing further verified via experiments. Topology optimization modeling considering nonlinear factors, e.g. contact, friction and collision, was presented, and the optimization results were verified by both dynamic simulation and experiments. Finally, detailed discussions on different load cases and constraints were presented to clarify their effect on the optimization. Our methods and results presented in this paper may shed light on the lightweight design of a FMAV.     

多臂空间机器人的视觉伺服与协调控制

针对多臂空间机器人自主目标抓捕任务，首先建立多臂空间机器人的运动模型和其与目标的相对运动模型，采用Kane方法建立多臂空间机器人的动力学模型；其次，研究基于视觉伺服的机械臂在线轨迹规划算法，并引入零反作用机动，消除机械臂运动对平台姿态的扰动；再次，在不使用零反作用机动功能时，分别使用基于角动量前馈补偿的协调控制算法和逆动力学方法设计了协调控制器，在机械臂运动时保持平台姿态和相对目标的位置。最后，开发了基于Matlab的仿真软件MASS（多臂空间机器人仿真），仿真结果校验了上述方法的有效性。     

An innovative approach for integrated airline network and aircraft family optimization

The determination of optimal aerial transport networks and their associated flight frequencies is crucial for the strategic planning of airlines, as well as for carrying out market research, to establish target markets, and for aircraft and crew rostering. In addition, optimum airplane types for the selected networks are crucial to improve revenue and to provide reduced operating costs. The present study proposes an innovative approach to determine the optimal aerial transport network simultaneously with the determination of the optimum fleet for that network, composed of three types of airplanes (network and vehicle integrated design). The network profit is maximized. The passenger’s demands between the airports are determined via a gravitational model. An embedded linear programming solution is responsible for obtaining potential optimal network configurations. The optimum fleet combination is determined from a database of candidate aircraft designs via genetic algorithm. A truly realistic airplane representation is made possible thanks to accurate surrogate models for engine and aerodynamics is adopted. An accurate engine deck encompassing a compression map and an innovative engine weight calculation besides an aerodynamical artificial neural network module enable a high degree of accuracy for the mission analysis. The proposed methodology is applied to obtain the optimum network comprised of twenty main Brazilian airports and corresponding fleet.     

多臂协调操作自由飞行空间机器人的位置和内力混合控制

基于多臂自由飞行空间机器人多臂协调操使负载沿着期望的轨迹运动并且控制负载所受的内力为目的，在多臂自由飞行空间机器人系统协调操作的动力学方程基础上，推导了各个机械臂协调操作负载按期望轨迹运动时各个机械臂关节的驱动力矩的计算方法；给出了作用在负载的内力的定义，根据关节力矩计算方法和PID反馈控制原理，建立了多臂自由飞行空间机器人协调操作负载时的位置和内力的控制算法；讨论了所提出的控制算法的稳定性问题，得到了负载的位置误差和内力误差的约束条件。通过仿真实验证明该控制算法能够使负载的实际位姿和内力收敛到期望的轨迹和内力。     

最坏风模型及对飞机突防航迹跟踪的影响

针对一类非线性动力学系统,本文推导出二次型性能指标下的微分对策解,由此得到一组含有非线性因素的最环风模型,这一模型特别适用于研究作空间机动飞行的飞机受外界环境扰动的灵敏性问题。最后考察了这一变化风场对飞机突防航迹非线性解耦跟踪的影响。     

基于混合灵敏度下H∞控制在三滑块质量矩导弹上的应用

由于质量矩导弹是一个具有非线性和模型不确定性的多变量系统，为了进一步提高控制系统的鲁棒性，对三滑块质量矩导弹进行了鲁棒控制系统的研究。以所建立的质量矩导弹数学模型为基础，通过对模型合理的简化，得到一个耦合的非线性动力学系统，考虑到质量矩导弹的鲁棒性要求和三个滑块的协调控制问题，在混合灵敏度控制的基础上，采用H∞控制理论对导弹进行姿态控制系统的研究，仿真结果验证了这种方法的有效性。     

电液位置伺服系统的动态试验研究

本文研究了快速响应的电液位置伺服系统动态试验,着重讨论了在实践中如何选择伪随机二位式最大长度序列(PRBS)参数的问陋,并提出快速响应系统PRBS参数选择的原则,使系统辨识精度提高约15％。