Adaptive fast trajectory tracking control for the airship based on prescribed performance

A fast trajectory tracking controller is designed for the airship, involving dynamic uncertainties of parameters, capable of guaranteeing the prescribed performance of tracking errors, and fast response of the closed-loop system. To achieve the decoupling of velocity control and attitude control of the airship, a new guidance and control integration framework is proposed first. Then, based on the dynamics model established by the spinor method, the lumped disturbance, caused by unknown aerodynamic parameter uncertainties and exogenous disturbances, is estimated online using a high-order finite-time observer. The control performance, namely, overshoot and steady-state performance of tracking errors, is significantly improved by utilizing the prescribed output performance constraints, while the convergence rate is further enhanced by combining the finite-time convergence property of the fast terminal sliding mode control. Simulation results attest to the effectiveness of the strategy in this paper. Compared with the adaptive fast terminal sliding mode control, the strategy effectively utilizes the capability of the actuator within the allowed range and reduces the convergence time by more than half with similar control inputs.