Stabilization of the planar vertical take‐off and landing using nonlinear feedback control

Abstract

This paper presents a new control strategy for the well known problem of the PVTOL. The total thrust is computed using a non linear feedback compensation so that the altitude reaches the desired altitude. The horizontal position x is then controlled by choosing the orientation angle θ as a smooth saturation function of x and x˙. A proof of convergence is presented using a Lyapunov approach. The proposed control strategy is successfully tested in numerical simulations.