Ismaila B. Tijani, Rini Akmeliawati, Ari Legowo, Agus Budiyono and Asan G. Abdul Muthalif
The purpose of this paper is to develop a hybrid algorithm using differential evolution (DE) and prediction error modeling (PEM) for identification of small-scale autonomous…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a hybrid algorithm using differential evolution (DE) and prediction error modeling (PEM) for identification of small-scale autonomous helicopter state-space model.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, flight data were collected and analyzed; MATLAB-based system identification algorithm was developed using DE and PEM; parameterized state-space model parameters were estimated using the developed algorithm and model dynamic analysis.
Findings
The proposed hybrid algorithm improves the performance of the PEM algorithm in the identification of an autonomous helicopter model. It gives better results when compared with conventional PEM algorithm inside MATLAB toolboxes.
Research limitations/implications
This study is applicable to only linearized state-space model.
Practical implications
The identification algorithm is expected to facilitate the required model development for model-based control design for autonomous helicopter development.
Originality/value
This study presents a novel hybrid algorithm for system identification of an autonomous helicopter model.
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Ismaila B. Tijani, Rini Akmeliawati, Ari Legowo, Agus Budiyono and A.G. Abdul Muthalif
The purpose of this paper is to present the synthesis of a robust controller for autonomous small‐scale helicopter hovering control using extended H∞ loop shaping design…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the synthesis of a robust controller for autonomous small‐scale helicopter hovering control using extended H∞ loop shaping design techniques.
Design/methodology/approach
This work presents the development of a robust controller for smooth hovering operation required for many autonomous helicopter operations using H∞ loop shaping technique incorporating the Vinnicombe‐gap (v‐gap) metric for validation of robustness to uncertainties due to parameter variation in the system model. Simulation study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the designed controller for robust stability to uncertainty, disturbance rejection, and time‐domain response in line with ADS‐33E level 1 requirements.
Findings
The proposed techniques for a robust controller exhibit an effective performance for both nominal plant and 20 percent variation in the nominal parameters in terms of robustness to uncertainty, disturbance wind gust attenuation up to 95 percent, and transient performance in compliance with ADS‐33E level 1 specifications.
Research limitations/implications
The controller is limited to hovering and low‐speed flight envelope.
Practical implications
This is expected to provide efficient hovering/low‐speed autonomous helicopter flight control required in many civilian unmanned aerial vehicles applications. Also, the technique can be used to simplify the number of robust gain‐scheduled linear controllers required for wide‐envelope flight.
Social implications
The research will facilitate the deployment of low cost, small‐scale autonomous helicopters in various civilian applications.
Originality/value
The research addresses the challenges of parametric variation inherent in helicopter hovering/low‐speed control using an extended H∞ loop shaping technique with v‐gap metric.
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Daifeng Zhang, Haibin Duan and Yijun Yang
The purpose of this paper is to propose a control approach for small unmanned helicopters, and a novel swarm intelligence algorithm is used to optimize the parameters of the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a control approach for small unmanned helicopters, and a novel swarm intelligence algorithm is used to optimize the parameters of the proposed controller.
Design/methodology/approach
Small unmanned helicopters have many advantages over other unmanned aerial vehicles. However, the manual operation process is difficult because the model is always instable and coupling. In this paper, a novel optimized active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) approach is presented for small unmanned helicopters. First, a linear attitude model is built in hovering condition according to small perturbation linearization. To realize decoupling, this model is divided into two parts, and each part is equipped with an ADRC controller. Finally, a novel Levy flight-based pigeon-inspired optimization (LFPIO) algorithm is developed to find the optimal ADRC parameters and enhance the performance of controller.
Findings
This paper applies ADRC method to the attitude control of small unmanned helicopters so that it can be implemented in practical flight under complex environments. Besides, a novel LFPIO algorithm is proposed to optimize the parameters of ADRC and is proved to be more efficient than other homogenous methods.
Research limitations/implications
The model of proposed controller is built in the hovering action, whereas it cannot be used in other flight modes.
Practical implications
The optimized ADRC method can be implemented in actual flight, and the proposed LFPIO algorithm can be developed in other practical optimization problems.
Originality/value
ADRC method can enhance the response and robustness of unmanned helicopters which make it valuable in actual environments. The proposed LFPIO algorithm is proved to be an effective swarm intelligence optimizer, and it is convenient and valuable to apply it in other optimized systems.
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Ismaila Bayo Tijani, Rini Akmeliawati, Ari Legowo and Agus Budiyono
– The purpose of this paper is to develop a multiobjective differential evolution (MODE)-based extended H-infinity controller for autonomous helicopter control.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a multiobjective differential evolution (MODE)-based extended H-infinity controller for autonomous helicopter control.
Design/methodology/approach
Development of a MATLAB-based MODE suitable for controller synthesis. Formulate the H-infinity control scheme as an extended H-infinity loop shaping design procedure (H ∞-LSDP) with incorporation of v-gap metric for robustness to parametric variation. Then apply the MODE-based algorithm to optimize the weighting function of the control problem formulation for optimal performance.
Findings
The proposed optimized H-infinity control was able to yield set of Pareto-controller candidates with optimal compromise between conflicting stability and time-domain performances required in autonomous helicopter deployment. The result of performance evaluation shows robustness to parameter variation of up to 20 per cent variation in nominal values, and in addition provides satisfactory disturbance rejection to wind disturbance in all the three axes.
Research limitations/implications
The formulated H-infinity controller is limited to hovering and low speed flight envelope. The optimization is focused on weighting function parameters for a given fixed weighting function structure. This thus requires a priori selection of weighting structures.
Practical implications
The proposed MODE-infinity controller algorithm is expected to ease the design and deployment of the robust controller in autonomous helicopter application especially for practicing engineer with little experience in advance control parameters tuning. Also, it is expected to reduce the design cycle involved in autonomous helicopter development. In addition, the synthesized robust controller will provide effective hovering/low speed autonomous helicopter flight control required in many civilian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications.
Social implications
The research will facilitate the deployment of low-cost, small-scale autonomous helicopter in various civilian applications.
Originality/value
The research addresses the challenges involved in selection of weighting function parameters for H-infinity control synthesis to satisfy conflicting stability and time-domain objectives. The problem of population initialization and objectives function computation in the conventional MODE algorithm are addressed to ensure suitability of the optimization algorithm in the formulated H-infinity controller synthesis.
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Pouria Sarhadi, Reza Nad Ali Niachari, Morteza Pouyan Rad and Javad Enayati
The purpose of this paper is to propose a software engineering procedure for real-time software development and verification of an autonomous underwater robotic system. High…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a software engineering procedure for real-time software development and verification of an autonomous underwater robotic system. High performance and robust software are one of the requirements of autonomous systems design. A simple error in the software can easily lead to a catastrophic failure in a complex system. Then, a systematic procedure is presented for this purpose.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper utilizes software engineering tools and hardware-inthe-loop (HIL) simulations for real-time system design of an autonomous underwater robot.
Findings
In this paper, the architecture of the system is extracted. Then, using software engineering techniques a suitable structure for control software is presented. Considering the desirable targets of the robot, suitable algorithms and functions are developed. After the development stage, proving the real-time performance of the software is disclosed.
Originality/value
A suitable approach for analyzing the real-time performance is presented. This approach is implemented using HIL simulations. The developed structure is applicable to other autonomous systems.
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Mohammad S. Al-Mohammad, Ahmad Tarmizi Haron, Muneera Esa, Mohammad Numan Aloko, Yasir Alhammadi, K.S. Anandh and Rahimi A. Rahman
This study aims to empirically analyze the symmetries and asymmetries among the critical factors affecting building information modeling (BIM) implementation between countries…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to empirically analyze the symmetries and asymmetries among the critical factors affecting building information modeling (BIM) implementation between countries with different income levels. To achieve that aim, the study objectives are to identify: critical factors affecting BIM implementation in low-, lower-middle-, upper-middle- and high-income countries; overlapping critical factors between countries with different income levels; and agreements on the critical factors between countries with different income levels.
Design/methodology/approach
This study identified potential BIM implementation factors using a systematic literature review and semi-structured interviews with architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals. Then, the factors were inserted into a questionnaire survey and sent to AEC professionals in Afghanistan, India, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. The collected data was analyzed using the following techniques and tests: mean, standard deviation, normalized value, Kruskal–Wallis, Dunn and Mann–Whitney.
Findings
Five critical factors overlap between all countries: “availability of guidelines for implementing BIM,” “cost-benefit of implementing BIM,” “stakeholders’ willingness to learn the BIM method,” “consistent views on BIM between stakeholders” and “existence of standard contracts on liability and risk allocation.” Also, the criticality of the factors often differs between income levels, especially between low- and high-income countries, suggesting a significant gap between low- and high-income countries in BIM implementation.
Originality/value
This study differs from prior works by empirically analyzing the symmetries and asymmetries in BIM implementation factors between countries with different income levels (i.e. low-, lower-middle-, upper-middle- and high-income countries).