Model Predictive Control for a 3-DOF Flapping-Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle with Control Constraints *

A model predictive controller (MPC) is proposed in this paper for a 3-DOF flapping-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to track the reference set point. The proposed MPC is designed by using an averaged model of the 3-DOF flapping UAV, where the control constraints are considered. In the formulation of the MPC, nonlinear control inputs are transformed into linear ones, and constraints are re-designed for the linear control inputs, such that original constraints are satisfied. With the proposed MPC strategy, the set-point tracking error of the flapping-wing UAV can be proved ultimately bounded. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate the theoretical result.