Disturbance observer-based coordinated control for three dimensional formation of unmanned autonomous helicopter

Purpose This paper aims to study the issue of the three-dimensional formation coordinated control for the unmanned autonomous helicopter (UAH) by using the sliding mode disturbance observer. Under the designed formation coordinated controller, the desired formation can be maintained and the closed-loop system stability is analyzed by using the Lyapunov theory. Design/methodology/approach Considering the unknown time-varying external 10; disturbance in formation flight of UAHs, a sliding mode disturbance observer has been employed to estimate them. Findings This work is supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 61803207, and in part by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities under Grant LGZD201806. Originality/value A sliding mode disturbance observer has been designed to estimate the unknown time-varying external disturbance in formation flight of UAHs. Aiming at the leading UAH maneuver in three-dimensional space during the formation flight progress, the formation coordinated controller has been proposed based on the output of the disturbance observer to maintain the formation.