In this work, we propose a cascaded scheme of linear Model prediction Control (MPC) based on Control Barrier Functions (CBF) with Dynamic Feedback Linearization (DFL) for Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). CBF is a tool that allows enforcement of forward invariance of a set using Lyapunov-like functions to ensure safety. The First control synthesis that employed CBF was based on Quadratic Program (QP) that modifies the existing controller to satisfy the safety requirements. However, the CBF-QP-based controllers leading to longer detours and undesirable transient performance. Recent contributions utilize the framework of MPC benefiting from the prediction capabilities and constraints imposed on the state and control inputs. Due to the intrinsic nonlinearities of the dynamics of robotics systems, all the existing MPC-CBF solutions rely on nonlinear MPC formulations or operate on less accurate linear models. In contrast, our novel solution unlocks the benefits of linear MPC-CBF while considering the full underactuated dynamics without any linear approximations. The cascaded scheme converts the problem of safe VTOL-UAV navigation to a Quadratic Constraint Quadratic Programming (QCQP) problem solved efficiently by off-the-shelf solvers. The closed-loop stability and recursive feasibility is proved along with numerical simulations showing the effective and robust solutions. Keywords: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Vertical Take-off and Landing, Model Predictive Control, MPC, Nonlinearity, Dynamic Feedback Linearization, Optimal Control.
Efficient Collision-Avoidance Constraints for Ellipsoidal Obstacles in Optimal Control: Application to Path-Following MPC and UAVs
Institute of Engineering and Computational Mechanics, University of Stuttgart（工程与计算力学研究所，斯图加特大学）；Chair of Systems Modeling and Simulation, Saarland University（系统建模与仿真教授团，萨尔兰大学）；Department of Mechanical Engineering, LUT University（机械工程系，卢霍斯大学）
Trajectory Tracking for UAVs: An Interpolating Control Approach
New Technologies for the Information Society Research Center（信息技术新技术研究中心）；Department of Cybernetics（控制论系）；Faculty of Applied Sciences（应用科学学院）；University of West Bohemia（西波希米亚大学）
Predictor-Based Time Delay Control of A Hex-Jet Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
School of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University（中山大学智能工程学院）；State Key Laboratory of Robotics and Systems, Harbin Institute of Technology（哈尔滨工业大学机器人与系统国家重点实验室）
Learning to Adapt Control Barrier Functions Under Epistemic and Aleatoric Uncertainty
Department of Robotics, University of Michigan（机器人学系，密歇根大学）；Charles Stark Draper Laboratory（查尔斯·斯泰克·德拉珀实验室）；Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan（航空航天工程系，密歇根大学）
