Combination of terminal sliding mode and finite-time state-dependent Riccati equation: Flapping-wing flying robot control

A novel terminal sliding mode control is introduced to control a class of nonlinear uncertain systems in finite time. Having command on the definition of the final time as an input control parameter is the goal of this work. Terminal sliding mode control is naturally a finite-time controller though the time cannot be set as input, and the convergence time is not exactly known to the user before execution of the control loop. The sliding surface of the introduced controller is equipped with a finite-time gain that finishes the control task in the desired predefined time. The gain is found by partitioning the state-dependent differential Riccati equation gain, then arranging the sub-blocks in a symmetric positive-definite structure. The state-dependent differential Riccati equation is a nonlinear optimal controller with a final boundary condition that penalizes the states at the final time. This guides the states to the desired condition by imposing extra force on the input control law. Here the gain is removed from standard state-dependent differential Riccati equation control law (partitioned and made symmetric positive-definite) and inserted into the nonlinear sliding surface to present a novel finite-time terminal sliding mode control. The stability of the proposed terminal sliding mode control is guaranteed by the definition of the adaptive gain of terminal sliding mode control, which is limited by the Lyapunov stability condition. The proposed approach was validated and compared with state-dependent differential Riccati equation and conventional terminal sliding mode control as independent controllers, applied on a van der Pol oscillator. The capability of the proposed approach of controlling complex systems was checked by simulating a flapping-wing flying robot. The flapping-wing flying robot possesses a highly nonlinear model with uncertainty and disturbance caused by flapping. The flight assumptions also limit the input law significantly. The proposed terminal sliding mode control successfully controlled the illustrative example and flapping-wing flying robot model and has been compared with state-dependent differential Riccati equation and conventional terminal sliding mode control.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work is supported by the European Research Council as part of GRIFFIN ERC advanced Grant 2017, Action 788247, and by the European Commission H2020 Program AERIAL-CORE, contract no. 871479. Partial funding received by the Plan Andaluz de Investigacion, Desarrollo e Innovacion (PAIDI) 2020 through the Project HOMing Pigeon bOT (HOMPOT) under Grant PY20_00597