Hybrid backstepping control for rotorcraft guidance

International audienceThe purpose of this communication is to display a non-linear control approach based on backstepping for the positioning and orientation for a four-rotor aircraft. Realistic rotorcraft flight dynamics are introduced and the effectiveness of its control channels is analyzed. Then two complementary implementations of the backstepping control approach are considered. The compatibility of these control approaches with a two-layer control structure devoted to the guidance of the rotorcraft is displayed. The resulting control laws are detailed and their expected performances are discussed. A simulation study is performed where the performances of the proposed control structure are compared with those of a classical non linear inverse control solution