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Article
Publication date: 3 September 2021

Yanjie Chen, Weiwei Zhan, Yibin Huang, Zhiqiang Miao and Yaonan Wang

This paper aims to investigate the distributed formation control problem for a multi-quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle system without linear velocity feedbacks.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the distributed formation control problem for a multi-quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle system without linear velocity feedbacks.

Design/methodology/approach

A nonlinear controller is proposed based on the orthogonal group SE(3) to obviate singularities and ambiguities of the traditional parameterized attitude representations. A cascade structure is applied in the distributed controller design. The inner loop is responsible for attitude control, and the outer loop is responsible for translational dynamics. To ensure a linear-velocity-free characteristic, some auxiliary variables are introduced to construct virtual signals in distributed controller design. The stability analysis of the proposed distributed control method by the Lyapunov function is provided as well.

Findings

A group of four quadrotors with constant reference linear velocity and a group of six quadrotors with varying reference linear velocity are adopted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Originality/value

This is a new innovation for multi-robot formation control method to improve assembly automation.

Details

Assembly Automation, vol. 41 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-5154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 July 2011

Takaya Inamori, Nobutada Sako and Shinichi Nakasuka

This paper aims to present an attitude determination and control system for a nano‐astrometry satellite which requires precise angular rate control. Focus of the research is…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present an attitude determination and control system for a nano‐astrometry satellite which requires precise angular rate control. Focus of the research is methods to achieve the requirement.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to obtain astrometry data, the satellite attitude should be controlled to an accuracy of 0.05°. Furthermore, attitude spin rate must be controlled to an accuracy of 4×10−7 rad/s during observation. In this paper the following unique ideas to achieve these requirements are introduced: magnetic disturbance compensation and rate estimation using star blurred images.

Findings

This paper presents the feasibility of a high accurate attitude control system in nano‐ and micro‐satellite missions.

Practical implications

This paper presents a possibility of the application of nano‐satellites to remote‐sensing and astronomy mission, which requires accurate attitude control.

Originality/value

Originalities of the paper are the methods to achieve the high accurate attitude control: magnetic disturbance compensation and angular rate estimation using star images.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, vol. 83 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2017

Lie Yu, Jia Chen, Yukang Tian, Yunzhou Sun and Lei Ding

The purpose of this paper is to present a control strategy which uses two independent PID controllers to realize the hovering control for unmanned aerial systems (UASs). In…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a control strategy which uses two independent PID controllers to realize the hovering control for unmanned aerial systems (UASs). In addition, the aim of using two PID controller is to achieve the position control and velocity control simultaneously.

Design/methodology/approach

The dynamic of the UASs is mathematically modeled. One PID controller is used for position tracking control, while the other is selected for the vertical component of velocity tracking control. Meanwhile, fuzzy logic algorithm is presented to use the actual horizontal component of velocity to compute the desired position.

Findings

Based on this fuzzy logic algorithm, the control error of the horizontal component of velocity tracking control is narrowed gradually to be zero. The results show that the fuzzy logic algorithm can make the UASs hover still in the air and vertical to the ground.

Social implications

The acquired results are based on simulation not experiment.

Originality/value

This is the first study to use two independent PID controllers to realize stable hovering control for UAS. It is also the first to use the velocity of the UAS to calculate the desired position.

Details

International Journal of Intelligent Computing and Cybernetics, vol. 10 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-378X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 September 2015

Hao Zhou, Tawfiqur Rahman and Wanchun Chen

– The purpose of this paper is to present a novel guidance law for hypervelocity descent to a stationary target such that the impact angle and impact velocity can be constrained.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel guidance law for hypervelocity descent to a stationary target such that the impact angle and impact velocity can be constrained.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed method is based on inverse dynamics and is designed using a third-order Bézier curve approximation to the reference trajectory.

Findings

Simulations indicate that the proposed law is able to satisfy impact angle and impact velocity constraints as well as follow control and path limitations in the case of guidance under perturbations. Comparisons with other methods also indicate better performance.

Research limitations/implications

The onboard implementation requires an offline selection of Bézier parameters.

Practical implications

The presented scheme could be extremely important for further research on automated onboard control of impact angle and velocity for both re-entry and terminal guidance laws.

Originality/value

This paper presents an innovative method for the solution of an inverse dynamics-based guidance law using Bézier curve approximation.

Details

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, vol. 87 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0002-2667

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2013

Jeffrey D. Will, Kevin L. Moore and Ian K. Lynn

Mobile manipulators offer great capability, but their teleoperation is often an overwhelming task for humans due to the many degrees‐of‐freedom of control available from both the…

Abstract

Purpose

Mobile manipulators offer great capability, but their teleoperation is often an overwhelming task for humans due to the many degrees‐of‐freedom of control available from both the mobile platform and the associated manipulator. The purpose of this paper is to address the question of how these controls should be mapped to the robotic mobile platform and its manipulator for “optimal teleoperation”, for the special case of an omnidirectional mobile platform and two joint (with wrist) planar manipulator.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, the authors summarize the results of a study to optimize the teleoperation interface for a two‐link planar manipulator with a wrist that was mounted on an omni‐directional mobile platform.

Findings

The research comprised a carefully‐controlled study using 33 human subjects in seven different treatments of possible control interfaces.

Research limitations/implications

Users performed movement and manipulation tasks, and their performance was measured on several scales.

Practical implications

Based on this study, the authors present guidelines for optimizing mobile manipulator control interfaces and motivate future research using the method of controlled multi‐user trials.

Social implications

This research has the potential to guide the improvement of interfaces for mobile robots in military, service, and security applications.

Originality/value

The value of this research extends to optimizing remote control schemes to relieve operator fatigue and optimize interface design.

Details

Industrial Robot: An International Journal, vol. 40 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-991X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2018

Víctor H. Andaluz, Cristian M. Gallardo, Fernando A. Chicaiza, Christian P. Carvajal, José Morales, Giovanny Cuzco, Vicente Morales, Byron E. Vaca and Nicolay Samaniego

This paper aims to present a unified motion control scheme for quadcopters which not only solves the point stabilization and trajectory tracking problems but also the path…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a unified motion control scheme for quadcopters which not only solves the point stabilization and trajectory tracking problems but also the path following problem.

Design/methodology/approach

The control problem is solved based on the kinematic model of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Next, a dynamic compensation controller is considered through of a quadcopter-inner-loop system to independently track four velocity commands: forward, lateral, up/downward and heading rate. Stability and robustness of the whole control system are proved through the Lyapunov’s method. To evaluate the controller’s performance, a multi-user application which allows bilateral communication between a ground station and the Phantom 3 PRO quadrotor is developed.

Findings

The performance of the proposed unified controller is shown through real experiments for the different motion control objectives: point stabilization, trajectory tracking and path following. The experiments confirm the capability of the unified controller to solve different motion problems by an adequate selection of the control references.

Originality/value

This work proposes the design of three types of motion controllers, which can be switched to comply a task in outdoor. Based on the software development kit provided by the company DJI, an application to get and send data to the UAV is developed. By means of this application, the three tasks are tested and the robustness of the controllers is proved.

Details

Assembly Automation, vol. 38 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-5154

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 July 2015

Mohammad Tabatabaei

– The purpose of this paper is to present a two-loop approach for velocity control of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) under mechanical uncertainties.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present a two-loop approach for velocity control of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) under mechanical uncertainties.

Design/methodology/approach

The inner loop calculates the two-axis stator reference voltages through a feedback linearization method. The outer loop employs an RST control structure to compute the q-axis stator reference current. To increase the robustness of the proposed method, the RST controller parameters are adapted through a fractional order model reference adaptive system (FO-MRAS). The fractional order gradient and Lyapunov methods are utilized as adaptation mechanisms.

Findings

The effect of the fractional order derivative in the load disturbance rejection, transient response speed and the robustness is verified through computer simulations. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed method against the external torque and mechanical parameters uncertainties.

Originality/value

The proposed FO-MRAS based on Lyapunov adaptation mechanism is proposed for the first time. Moreover, application of the FO-MRAS for velocity control of PMSM is presented for the first time.

Details

COMPEL: The International Journal for Computation and Mathematics in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, vol. 34 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0332-1649

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 July 2013

Xiaohui Xie, Cui Ma, Qiang Sun and Ruxu Du

Bar‐tacking is a specialized sewing stitch designed to provide immense tensile strength to the garment which requires a high‐speed precision bar‐tacking sewing machine. This paper…

Abstract

Purpose

Bar‐tacking is a specialized sewing stitch designed to provide immense tensile strength to the garment which requires a high‐speed precision bar‐tacking sewing machine. This paper aims to present an event‐driven multi‐axis cooperative control method for a bar‐tacking sewing machine.

Design/methodology/approach

The control method consists of two parts: the multi‐axis cooperative control and the needle stop positioning control. The challenges include the high speed and the precision. For example, the needle must stop at a set position in milliseconds.

Findings

The presented multi‐axis cooperative control can ensure the high speed response and the precision of the cooperative control. The needle stop positioning control is based on a combination of the velocity control and the position control with velocity feed‐forward and limitation.

Research limitations/implications

The bar‐tacking sewing machine requires high‐speed start and stop response and coordination of displacement and velocity only at some given points. Therefore, the conventional multi‐axis cooperative control methods are not suitable. In addition, it requires high‐speed precision control under varying loading conditions.

Practical implications

While there are a number of commercial textile machines available in the market, designing a smart bar‐tacking sewing machine with good speed and precision performance remains a challenge.

Originality/value

The bar‐tacking sewing machine requires highly accurate multi‐axes cooperative control. The presented event‐driven multi‐axis control method is effective. It has not only the required high accuracy but also the fast time response.

Details

International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology, vol. 25 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-6222

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 September 2022

Haitao Ding, Wei Li, Nan Xu and Jianwei Zhang

This study aims to propose an enhanced eco-driving strategy based on reinforcement learning (RL) to alleviate the mileage anxiety of electric vehicles (EVs) in the connected…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to propose an enhanced eco-driving strategy based on reinforcement learning (RL) to alleviate the mileage anxiety of electric vehicles (EVs) in the connected environment.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper, an enhanced eco-driving control strategy based on an advanced RL algorithm in hybrid action space (EEDC-HRL) is proposed for connected EVs. The EEDC-HRL simultaneously controls longitudinal velocity and lateral lane-changing maneuvers to achieve more potential eco-driving. Moreover, this study redesigns an all-purpose and efficient-training reward function with the aim to achieve energy-saving on the premise of ensuring other driving performance.

Findings

To illustrate the performance for the EEDC-HRL, the controlled EV was trained and tested in various traffic flow states. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed technique can effectively improve energy efficiency, without sacrificing travel efficiency, comfort, safety and lane-changing performance in different traffic flow states.

Originality/value

In light of the aforementioned discussion, the contributions of this paper are two-fold. An enhanced eco-driving strategy based an advanced RL algorithm in hybrid action space (EEDC-HRL) is proposed to jointly optimize longitudinal velocity and lateral lane-changing for connected EVs. A full-scale reward function consisting of multiple sub-rewards with a safety control constraint is redesigned to achieve eco-driving while ensuring other driving performance.

Details

Journal of Intelligent and Connected Vehicles, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2399-9802

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2018

Rafael Bardera, Marina León-Calero and Joaquín de Nova-Trigueros

Aircraft carriers are essential for modern naval operations. Takeoff maneuver is critical because of the short runway distance. The ski-jump ramp is a system which increases the…

Abstract

Purpose

Aircraft carriers are essential for modern naval operations. Takeoff maneuver is critical because of the short runway distance. The ski-jump ramp is a system which increases the angle of attack of the aircraft, so an extra lift is obtained. Regarding the flow configuration over the ski-jump ramp at ahead wind conditions, the complex aerodynamic environment generated by the ramp configuration influences aircraft operations. This flow field is mainly characterized by a low velocity recirculation bubble that reduces aircraft performances. The purpose of this paper is to find a solution to reduce these adverse effects, by means of flow control devices, which opens a wide field of research.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents wind tunnel tests performed to study the flow configuration in the vicinity of the ski-jump ramp and the flow control devices effects. A 1:100 scaled ship model was built to develop experimental tests by using flow control devices fabricated by means of additive manufacturing. Particle image velocimetry technique was used to measure the velocity flow field and the turbulence intensity maps.

Findings

Interesting results were obtained when the angle between the intersection of the ski-jump ramp and the columnar vortex generator (CVG) is modified. The results showed a high reduction of the recirculation bubble generated over the flight deck.

Originality/value

CVG has presented encouraging results as a passive flow control device. A study of the variation of CVG geometrical parameters has been developed.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 28 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

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