Nonlinear Trajectory Tracking for Fixed Wing UAVs via Backstepping and Parameter Adaptation

Equipping a flxed wing unmanned air vehicle (UAV) with low-level autopilots, we derive high-level velocity and roll angle control laws for the UAV. Backstepping techniques are applied to design the velocity and roll angle control laws from known velocity and heading angle control laws that explicitly account for velocity and heading rate constraints of the UAV. Regarding unknown autopilot constants, a parameter adaptation technique is used to estimate autopilot parameters. Simulation results on a flxed wing UAV are presented to show the efiectiveness of our approach.

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