Trajectory Tracking Control Design for Autonomous Helicopters with Guaranteed Error Bounds

Abstract:This paper presents a systematic framework for computing formally guaranteed trajectory tracking error bounds for autonomous helicopters based on Robust Positive Invariant (RPI) sets. The approach establishes a closed-loop translational error dynamics which is cast into polytopic linear parameter-varying form with bounded additive and state-dependent disturbances. Ellipsoidal RPI sets are computed, yielding explicit position error bounds suitable as certified buffer zones in upper-level trajectory planning. Three controller architectures are compared with respect to the conservatism of their error bounds and tracking performance. Simulation results on a nonlinear helicopter model demonstrate that all architectures satisfy the derived bounds, while highlighting trade-offs between performance and the conservatism of the computed invariant set.

Systems and Control (eess.SY); Robotics (cs.RO)

arXiv:2603.08045 [eess.SY]

(or arXiv:2603.08045v2 [eess.SY] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2603.08045 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

2026 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS), Corfu, Greece, 2026, pp. 411-418

https://doi.org/10.1109/ICUAS69441.2026.11598705 Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources

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