An approach to the adaptive mode transition control of unmanned aerial vehicles

A new approach to the adaptive mode transition control of unmanned aerial vehicles is proposed. The proposed architecture consists of three levels: the highest level is occupied by mission planning routines where information about way points the vehicle must follow is processed. The mid-level controller uses a trajectory-planning component to coordinate the task execution and provides set points for low-level stabilizing controllers. The adaptive mode transitioning control algorithm resides at the lowest level of the hierarchy consisting of a mode transitioning controller and the accompanying adaptation mechanism. An actual flight demonstration is planned for the near future as part of a DARPA sponsored research program to validate the control algorithms.