Control Allocation for a Modified Quadrotor Helicopter Based on Reliability Analysis

Abstract

This paper considers the problem of control allocation for a modi ed quadrotor heli- copter unmanned system based on reliability analysis. As one of the objectives is to increase the overall system's reliability, the conventional quadrotor helicopter which is equipped with four actuators is rst upgraded by adding four additional actuators. Second, control allocation is applied to the upgraded system for a better redundancy management while considering information on actuator failure rates. With respect to such a reliability con- sideration, more control duties are allocated to the most reliable actuators and less control duties are allocated to the least reliable ones. Experimental ight tests show how the consideration of reliability analysis in the control allocation a ects the generated control inputs for a better control e orts distribution with consideration of a higher reliability in actuator components and also overall quadrotor system. Moreover, it is shown how the system's global reliability and consequently its availability are improved.