RA-L 202310 citations

Precision Post-Stall Landing Using NMPC With Learned Aerodynamics

Max Basescu, Bryanna Y. Yeh, Luca Scheuer, Kevin C. Wolfe, Joseph L. Moore

Abstract

In this letter, we present an approach for achieving precision post-stall landings with medium-sized Group 1 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). To do this, we employ an aggressive dive-and-stall maneuver to significantly reduce maneuver distance, time, and touchdown speed. Our approach relies on a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) algorithm and learned aerodynamic coefficients to achieve accuracy and reliability in the presence of wind disturbances. We demonstrate our approach in hardware with a 60-inch wingspan, 4.2 kg fixed-wing UAS, and show the ability to land with low speed and high accuracy using minimal throttle.

BibTeX
@inproceedings{ral2023_precisionpoststa,
  title = {Precision Post-Stall Landing Using NMPC With Learned Aerodynamics},
  author = {Max Basescu and Bryanna Y. Yeh and Luca Scheuer and Kevin C. Wolfe and Joseph L. Moore},
  booktitle = {RA-L 2023},
  year = {2023}
}