A UDE-based Controller with Targeted Filtering for the Stabilization of a Fixed-Wing UAV in the Harrier Maneuver

Autonomous aerobatic flight for fixed-wing aerial vehicles is studied. This paper proposes an uncertainty and disturbance estimator (UDE) based controller that attenuates the special effect of model uncertainty and external disturbances during the aerobatic harrier maneuver using a novel targeted filtering structure. Knowledge of the disturbance frequency content and the undisturbed system dynamics are used in filter design to improve disturbance rejection compared with standard UDE-based controllers with low-pass filtering structures. The controller performance is validated on a simulated model of a vehicle performing the low-speed, high angle-of-attack harrier aerobatic maneuver.