Modeling and Global Control of the Longitudinal Dynamics of a Coaxial Convertible Mini-UAV in Hover Mode

The aim of this paper is to present a configuration for a Convertible Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, which incorporates the advantages of the coaxial rotorcraft for hover flight and the efficiencies of a fixed-wing for forward flight. A detailed dynamical model, including the aerodynamics, is obtained via the Newton-Euler formulation. It is proposed a nonlinear control law that achieves global stability for the longitudinal vertical-mode motion. Indeed, we have performed a simulation study to test the proposed controller in presence of external perturbations, obtaining satisfactory results. We have developed an embedded autopilot to validate the proposed prototype and the control law in hover-mode flight.