Tracking control for VTOL aircraft with disabled IMUs

This article focuses on the design of an output feedback controller able to achieve the asymptotic tracking of a reference trajectory for vertical take off and landing aircraft with disabled inertial measurement units (IMUs). Roll angle and roll rate cannot be measured directly when IMUs are disabled. A dynamic linear observer is designed to estimate the tracking errors of the roll angle and equivalent roll angular velocity with respect to their desired states. Moreover, based on the centre manifold theory and on the equivalent control, the closed-loop system is asymptotically convergent. The theoretical results are confirmed by computer simulations.