On the controllability of fixed-wing perching
The ability of birds to perch robustly and effectively is a powerful demonstration of the capabilities of nature's control systems. Their apparent robustness to gust disturbances is particularly remarkable because when the airspeed approaches zero just before acquiring a perch, the influence of...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60046 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8712-7092 |
| _version_ | 1826214976072712192 |
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| author | Roberts, John William Cory, Rick Tedrake, Russell Louis |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Roberts, John William Cory, Rick Tedrake, Russell Louis |
| author_sort | Roberts, John William |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The ability of birds to perch robustly and effectively is a powerful demonstration of the capabilities of nature's control systems. Their apparent robustness to gust disturbances is particularly remarkable because when the airspeed approaches zero just before acquiring a perch, the influence of aerodynamic forces, and therefore potentially the control authority, is severely compromised. In this paper we present a simplified closed-form model for a fixed-wing aircraft which closely agrees with experimental indoor perching data. We then carefully examine the LTV controllability along an optimized perching trajectory for three different actuation scenarios - a glider (no powerplant), a fixed propeller, and a propeller with thrust vectoring. The results reveal that while all three vehicles are LTV controllable along the trajectory, the additional actuators allow the perch to be more easily acquired with less control surface deflections. However, in all three cases, disturbances experienced just before reaching the perch cannot be effectively rejected. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:14:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/60046 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:14:17Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/600462022-10-02T07:12:09Z On the controllability of fixed-wing perching Roberts, John William Cory, Rick Tedrake, Russell Louis Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering Tedrake, Russell Louis Roberts, John William Cory, Rick Tedrake, Russell Louis The ability of birds to perch robustly and effectively is a powerful demonstration of the capabilities of nature's control systems. Their apparent robustness to gust disturbances is particularly remarkable because when the airspeed approaches zero just before acquiring a perch, the influence of aerodynamic forces, and therefore potentially the control authority, is severely compromised. In this paper we present a simplified closed-form model for a fixed-wing aircraft which closely agrees with experimental indoor perching data. We then carefully examine the LTV controllability along an optimized perching trajectory for three different actuation scenarios - a glider (no powerplant), a fixed propeller, and a propeller with thrust vectoring. The results reveal that while all three vehicles are LTV controllable along the trajectory, the additional actuators allow the perch to be more easily acquired with less control surface deflections. However, in all three cases, disturbances experienced just before reaching the perch cannot be effectively rejected. National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Fellowship Program Microsoft Research. New Faculty Fellowship program 2010-12-01T18:26:32Z 2010-12-01T18:26:32Z 2009-07 2009-06 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/ConferencePaper 978-1-4244-4523-3 0743-1619 INSPEC Accession Number: 10775903 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60046 Roberts, J.W., R. Cory, and R. Tedrake. “On the controllability of fixed-wing perching.” American Control Conference, 2009. ACC '09. 2009. 2018-2023. © Copyright 2009 IEEE https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8712-7092 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ACC.2009.5160526 Proceedings of the American Control Conference, 2009 Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE |
| spellingShingle | Roberts, John William Cory, Rick Tedrake, Russell Louis On the controllability of fixed-wing perching |
| title | On the controllability of fixed-wing perching |
| title_full | On the controllability of fixed-wing perching |
| title_fullStr | On the controllability of fixed-wing perching |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the controllability of fixed-wing perching |
| title_short | On the controllability of fixed-wing perching |
| title_sort | on the controllability of fixed wing perching |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60046 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8712-7092 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT robertsjohnwilliam onthecontrollabilityoffixedwingperching AT coryrick onthecontrollabilityoffixedwingperching AT tedrakerusselllouis onthecontrollabilityoffixedwingperching |