In recent years, the use of rotorcraft uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) for cargo delivery has become of particular interest to private companies and humanitarian organizations, namely due to their reduced operational costs, ability to reach remote locations and to take off and land vertically. The slung configuration, where the cargo is suspended below the vehicle by a cable, is slowly being favoured for its ability to transport different sized loads without the need for the vehicle to land. However, such configurations require complex control systems in order to stabilize the swing of the suspended load. The goal of this research is to design a control system which will be able to bring a slung payload transported by a rotorcraft UAV back to its stable equilibrium in the event of a disturbance. A simple model of the system is first derived from first principles for the purpose of simulating a control algorithm. A controller based in model-free, policy-gradient reinforcement learning is then derived and implemented on the simulator in order to tune the learning parameters and reach a first stable solution for load stabilization in a single plane. An experimental testbed is then constructed to test the performance of the controller in a practical setting. The testbed consists of a quadcopter carrying a weight suspended on a string and of a newly designed on-board load-angle sensing device, to allow the algorithm to operate using only on-board sensing and computation. While the load-angle sensing design was found to be sensitive to the aggressive manoeuvres of the vehicle and require reworking, the proposed control algorithm was found to successfully stabilize the slung payload and adapt in real-time to the dynamics of the physical testbed, accounting for model uncertainties. The algorithm also works within the framework of the widely-used, open-source autopilot program ArduCopter, making it straightforward to implement on existing rotorcraft platforms. In the future, improvements to the load angle sensor should be made to enable the algorithm to run fully on-board and allow the vehicle to operate outdoors. Further studies should also be conducted to limit the amount of vehicle drift observed during testing of the load stabilization.

Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第19125号 / 情博第571号 / 新制||情||100 / 32076 / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科システム科学専攻 / (主査)教授 杉江 俊治, 教授 石井 信, 教授 加納 学, 准教授 東 俊一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当

This work addresses the design and real-time implementation of adaptive control strategies on the parabolic solar collector to enhance the production efficiency under varying working conditions. For example, the unpredictable variations of the solar irradiance and thermal losses, these factors can be a major problem in the control design. The control objective is to force the outlet temperature of the collector fluid, to track a predefined reference temperature regardless of the environmental changes. In this work, two control strategies have been designed and analyzed. First, an intelligent proportional-integral feedback control, which combines the proportionalintegral feedback control with an ultra-local model is proposed. This strategy uses a transfer function model that has been derived and identified from real-time data and used to test the controller performance. Second, an adaptive nonlinear control using Lyapunov stability theory combined with the phenomenological representation of the system is introduced. This strategy uses a bilinear model derived from the heat transfer equation. Both control strategies showed good performance in the simulations with respect to the convergence time and tracking accuracy. Besides, the conventional proportional-integral controller has been successfully implemented in the real system.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(情報学) / 甲第19125号 / 情博第571号 / 新制||情||100(附属図書館) / 32076 / 京都大学大学院情報学研究科システム科学専攻 / (主査)教授 杉江 俊治, 教授 石井 信, 教授 加納 学, 准教授 東 俊一 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Informatics / Kyoto University / DFAM

With the recent advances in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles, many applications have been identified. In tasks that require high-payload-to-weight ratios, flight times in the order of days, reduced noise and/or hovering capabilities, lighter-than-air vehicles present themselves as a competitive platform compared to fixed-wing and rotor based vehicles. The limiting factor in their widespread use in autonomous applications comes from the complexity of the control task. The so-called airships are highly-susceptible to aerodynamic forces and pose complex nonlinear system dynamics that complicate their modeling and control. Model-free control lends itself well as a solution to this type of problem, as it derives its control policies using input-output data, and can therefore learn complex dynamics and handle uncertain or unknown parameters and disturbances. In this work, two multi-input multi-output algorithms are presented on the basis of optimal control theory. Leveraging results from reinforcement learning, a single layer, partially connected neural network is formulated as a value function appropriator in accordance with Weierstrass higher-order approximation theorem. The so-called critic-network is updated using gradient descent methods on the mean-squared error of the temporal difference equation. In the single-network controller, the control policy is formulated as a closed form equation that is parameterized on the weights of the critic-network. A second controller is proposed that uses a second single-layer partially connected neural network, the actor-network, to calculate the control action. The actor-network is also updated using gradient descent on the squared error of the temporal difference equation. The controllers are employed in a highly realistic simulation airship model in nominal conditions and in the presence of external disturbances in the form of turbulent wind. To verify the validity and test the sensitivity of the algorithms to design parameters (the initialization of certain terms), ablation studies are carried out with multiple initial parameters. Both of the proposed algorithms are able to track the desired waypoints in both the nominal and disturbed flight tests. Furthermore, the performance of the controllers is compared to a modern, state-of-the-art multi-input multi-output controller. The two proposed controllers outperform the comparison controller in all but one flight test, with up to four fold reduction in the integral absolute error and integral time absolute error metrics. On top of the quantitative improvements seen in the proposed controllers, both controllers demonstrate a reduction in system oscillation and actuator chattering with respect to the comparison algorithm.

Inspiré par les limitations de contrôleurs PID traditionnels et les différentes performances dans les cas idéals et réalistes, les quadrotors existants, leurs applications et leurs méthodes de contrôle ont été intensivement étudiés dans cette thèse. De nombreux challenges sont dévoilés: les systèmes embarqués ont des limites des ressources de calcul et de l'énergie; la dynamique est assez complexe et souvent mal connu; l'environnement a beaucoup de perturbations et d'incertitudes; de nombreuses méthodes de contrôle ont été proposées dans des scénarios idéaux dans la littérature sans comparaison avec d’autres méthodes. Par conséquent, cette thèse porte sur ces principaux points dans le contrôle de quadrotors.Tout d'abord, les modèles cinématiques et dynamiques sont proposés, y compris toutes les forces et couples aérodynamiques importants. Un modèle dynamique simplifié est également proposé pour certaines applications. Ensuite, la dynamique de quadrotor est analysée. En utilisant la théorie de la forme normale, le modèle de quadrotor est simplifié à une forme plus simple nommée la forme normale, qui présente toutes les propriétés dynamiques possibles du système d'origine. Les bifurcations de cette forme normale sont étudiées, et le système est simplifié à son point de bifurcation en utilisant la théorie de la variété du centre. Basé sur l’étude des applications de quadrotors, cinq scénarios réalistes sont proposés : un cas idéal, les cas avec la perturbation du vent, les incertitudes des paramètres, les bruits de capteurs et les fautes de moteur. Ces cas réalistes peuvent montrer plus globalement les performances des méthodes de contrôle par rapport aux cas idéaux. Un schéma déclenché par événements est également proposé avec le schéma déclenché par. Ensuite, la commande sans modèle est présentée, Il s'agit d'une technique simple mais efficace pour la dynamique non-linéaire, inconnue ou partiellement connue. La commande par backstepping et la commande par mode glissant sont également proposées pour la comparaison.Toutes les méthodes de contrôle sont mises en œuvre sous les schémas déclenchés par temps et par événements dans cinq scénarios différents. Basé sur l’étude des applications de quadrotors, dix critères sont choisis pour évaluer les performances des méthodes de contrôle, telles que l'erreur maximale absolue de suivi, la variance de l'erreur, le nombre d’actionnement, la consommation d'énergie, etc. / Inspired by the limitations of traditional PID controllers and the different performance in ideal and realistic cases, the existing quadrotors, their applications and control methods have been intensively studied in this dissertation. Many challenges are shown: embedded quadrotor systems have limit computational resources and energy; the aerodynamic dynamics is rather complex and poorly known; environment has many disturbances and uncertainties; many control methods have been proposed in ideal scenarios in literature without comparison. Therefore, this dissertation focuses on these main points in control of quadrotors.A kinematic model and a dynamic model are proposed, including all the important aerodynamic forces and moments. A simplified dynamic model is also given based on some applications. Then, the dynamics of quadrotor is analyzed. Using the normal form theory, the model of quadrotor is simplified to a simplest form named the normal form, which exhibits all possible dynamic properties of the original system. The bifurcations of its normal form are then studied, and the system can be further simplified at its bifurcation point using the center manifold theory.Based on the research of the applications in the first chapter, five typical realistic scenarios are proposed: an ideal case, the cases with wind disturbance, parameter uncertainties, sensor noises and actuator faults. These realistic cases can show comprehensively the performance of control methods respect to the ideal cases. An event triggered scheme is also proposed with the time triggered scheme in order to further save computational resources. Then, a newly proposed method the model free control is presented. It is a simple but efficient technique for the nonlinear, unknown or partially known dynamics. A backstepping control and a sliding mode control are also proposed for the sake of comparison.All the control methods are implemented in the time and event triggered schemes in five different scenarios. In order to keep closer to realistic situations, the control gains of each methods are not changed in different scenarios. Based on the study in the first chapter, ten criteria are chosen for measuring the performance of control methods, such as the maximum absolute tracking error, the error variance, the actuation steps, the energy consumption, etc.

Dans ce travail de thèse, la commande sans modèle a tout d'abord été appliquée et adaptée au cas des systèmes présentant un retard connu ou inconnu. Cette méthode de commande ne nécessitant pas la connaissance précise d'un modèle du système, elle trouve toute son efficacité dans l'appréhension de retards inconnus. Différentes adaptations de l'approche classique, reposant sur la minimisation de critères temporels et fréquentiels, ont été proposées suivant le contexte d'un retard connu, borné ou inconnu. Elles nous ont permis d'élargir le spectre des systèmes considérés et d'améliorer les performances intrinsèques de la commande sans modèle. Les systèmes retardés, qui sont la cible privilégiée de ce travail, ont pu bénéficier de ces améliorations. Le problème du diagnostic des systèmes à retard a ensuite été abordé. Une nouvelle méthode de diagnostic sans modèle a été proposée, fondée sur les principes mêmes de la commande sans modèle. Cette proposition s'appuie sur la seule évolution temporelle des signaux entrée/sortie du système. Par la génération de signaux résiduels, la détection et la localisation de défauts d'actionneurs et du système est assurée sous certaines hypothèses. Finalement, nous avons montré en quoi la commande sans modèle s'apparente à une commande tolérante aux défauts et son efficacité en tant que telle a été prouvée. Une différence importante est à souligner par comparaison à d'autres commandes plus classiques, de type PI par exemple. En effet, la commande sans modèle est non seulement robuste à des signaux perturbateurs basses fréquences en entrée, à l'identique d'une structure PI classique, mais elle permet également de rejeter d’autres types de signaux révélateurs de défauts via l’estimation de certains paramètres de synthèse. Tout au long du mémoire, l'efficacité des approches proposées en commande et en diagnostic est perçue au travers d'exemples académiques / In this thesis, the model-free control was applied and adapted to delayed systems whose delay is either known or unknown. This method of control does not require the specific knowledge of a model of the system, it finds all its effectiveness in the apprehension of the unknown delays. Different adaptations of the classical approach, based on the minimization of frequency and temporal criteria, have been proposed in the context of a known, bounded or unknown delay. They allowed us to extend the range of systems considered and to improve the intrinsic performance of the model-free control. The delayed systems, which are the main target of this thesis, were able to benefit from these improvements. The problem of the fault-diagnosis of delayed systems was then addressed. A new method of model-free diagnosis has been proposed, based on model-free control principles. Our proposal only uses the temporal evolution of the system's input and output signals. Due to the generation of residual signals, the detection and localization of actuator/system faults were permitted under certain assumptions. Finally, we have studied the fault-tolerance properties of model-free control and its efficacy has been proven. Compared with more conventional methods, such as the PI Controller for example, a notable difference is to be mentioned. Indeed, unlike a PI controller, the model-free control is robust not only to low-frequency input disturbance signals, but it also allows for the rejection of other signal types by estimating summary parameters. Throughout this report, the effectiveness of the proposed approaches was illustrated in terms of control or diagnosis by multiple academic examples

Cette thèse porte sur la commande non linéaire des systèmes mécaniques sous-actionnés, ces systèmes possédant moins d'actionneur que de degrés de liberté. La dynamique interne de ces systèmes est souvent instable ce qui les rend difficiles à commander et requiert des méthodes de commande spécifiques. La contribution de cette thèse est la proposition de deux approches de commandes originales dont le but est la génération de cycle limites stables sur toutes les coordonnées du système mécanique sous-actionné. La première approche de commande est basée sur la linéarisation partielle par retour d'état et l'optimisation de trajectoires de référence. La seconde approche est basée sur les travaux récents sur la commande sans modèle, une technique de commande qui permet de contrôler un système sans avoir besoin de modèle mathématique préalable de sa dynamique. Ces deux approches de commande sont appliquées à un système mécanique sous-actionné particulier: le pendule inversé stabilisé par roue d'inertie. Plusieurs scénarios sont proposés, à la fois en simulation numérique et en temps-réel sur une plate-forme expérimentale. Les résultats obtenus attestent de la capacité des contrôleurs proposés à stabiliser le système autour de cycles limites stables en dépit de la présence de perturbations externes. / This thesis is focused on non linear control of underactuated mechanical systems, thoses systems with less actuators than degrees of freedom. The internal dynamics of such system is often unstable making them particulary difficult to control. Thus specific care must be taken when designing controlers for such systems. The main contribution of this thesis is the design of two new control schemes for stable limit cycles generation on all coordinates of underactuated mechanical systems. First control approach is based on partial feedback linearization and reference trajectories optimization. Second approach is based on recent work on model free control,a control scheme which doesn't require prior mathematicalmodel of the controlled system dynamics. The proposed approaches are applied to an inertiawheel inverted pendulumtestbed. Several experimental scenarios are proposed, both in numerical simulation and in realtime implementation. Obtained results demonstrate the ability of both controllers to stabilize the system around stable limit cycles and to reject external disturbances.

La voiture autonome pourrait réduire le nombre de morts et de blessés sur les routes tout en améliorant l'efficacité du trafic. Cependant, afin d'assurer leur déploiement en masse sur les routes ouvertes au public, leur sécurité doit être garantie en toutes circonstances. Cette thèse traite de l'architecture de planification et de contrôle pour la conduite automatisée et défend l'idée que l'intention du véhicule doit correspondre aux actions réalisées afin de garantir la sécurité à tout moment. Pour cela, la faisabilité cinématique et dynamique de la trajectoire de référence doit être assurée. Sinon, le contrôleur, aveugle aux obstacles, n'est pas capable de la suivre, entraînant un danger pour la voiture elle-même et les autres usagers de la route. L'architecture proposée repose sur la commande à modèle prédictif fondée sur un modèle bicyclette cinématique afin de planifier des trajectoires de référence sûres. La faisabilité de la trajectoire de référence est assurée en ajoutant une contrainte dynamique sur l'angle au volant, contrainte issue de ces travaux, afin d'assurer que le modèle bicyclette cinématique reste valide. Plusieurs contrôleurs à haute-fréquence sont ensuite comparés afin de souligner leurs avantages et inconvénients. Enfin, quelques résultats préliminaires sur les contrôleurs à base de commande sans modèle et leur application au contrôle automobile sont présentés. En particulier, une méthode efficace pour ajuster les paramètres est proposée et implémentée avec succès sur la voiture expérimentale de l'ENSIAME en partenariat avec le laboratoire LAMIH de Valenciennes. / Autonomous vehicles are believed to reduce the number of deaths and casualties on the roads while improving the traffic efficiency. However, before their mass deployment on open public roads, their safety must be guaranteed at all time.Therefore, this thesis deals with the motion planning and control architecture for autonomous vehicles and claims that the intention of the vehicle must match with its actual actions. For that purpose, the kinematic and dynamic feasibility of the reference trajectory should be ensured. Otherwise, the controller which is blind to obstacles is unable to track it, setting the ego-vehicle and other traffic participants in jeopardy. The proposed architecture uses Model Predictive Control based on a kinematic bicycle model for planning safe reference trajectories. Its feasibility is ensured by adding a dynamic constraint on the steering angle which has been derived in this work in order to ensure the validity of the kinematic bicycle model. Several high-frequency controllers are then compared and their assets and drawbacks are highlighted. Finally, some preliminary work on model-free controllers and their application to automotive control are presented. In particular, an efficient tuning method is proposed and implemented successfully on the experimental vehicle of ENSIAME in collaboration with the laboratory LAMIH of Valenciennes.

Hydraulic systems are widely applied in industry for position or force control. However, due to hydraulic system nonlinearities, it is difficult to achieve a precise model valid over a large range of frequencies and movements. The work in this dissertation focuses on a high performance hydraulic test bench which involves three main hydraulic components, i.e. two high performance servovalves, a double rod actuator, and a specific intermediate block connecting the servovalves and actuator. This rig has been designed for testing aerospace or automotive components in real conditions (e.g. wear and ageing effects). The main objectives of this dissertation are first the development of a virtual prototype based on a precise model which is derived from the physical principles and experimental works, and then second the synthesis of several nonlinear control laws of this actuation system in a large operating range with a good robustness to the perturbations. The proposed model based on Bond Graph shows a very good agreement with experimental results not only at low frequencies, but also at high frequencies. Moreover, its performances are improved at high frequencies by introducing the dynamic effects due to the intermediate block. Besides, multivariable and monovariable control strategies, based on respectively the backstepping and the model-free method, are developed and implemented on the test bench. All the control strategies proposed have been validated by simulations and experiments. Results show they lead to better tracking precision and robustness performance compared to the conventional control techniques.