Adaptive integral backstepping control for a 3-DOF helicopter

Unmanned aerial vehicles have enormous potential applications in military and civil fields. A Quanser´s 3-DOF helicopter is a simplified and benchmark experimental model for validating the effectiveness of various flight control algorithms. The attitude control of the 3-DOF helicopter is a challenging task since it is an under-actuated system with strong coupling and model uncertainty characteristics. In this paper, the dynamics model of the helicopter is established and an adaptive integral backstepping algorithm is applied to realize robust control of a 3-DOF helicopter. The proposed control algorithm can estimate model uncertainties online and improve the robustness of the system. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm performs well in tracking and under model uncertainties.