Model Predictive Controller for Position Control of Twin Rotor MIMO System

Twin Rotor Multi-Input Multi-Output System (TRMS) is a highly non-linear2-DOF helicopter model. It consists of two rotors, vertical and horizontal, whose positions need to be controlled with the help of suitable controller. Due to its non-linear characteristics, it is quite challenging to design a traditional controller for this system. The design objectives of the controller are to stabilize the positions of both the rotors of TRMS in presence of cross coupling between the two rotors and reach the desired Pitch and Yaw angles. Model predictive control (MPC) can be suitably used in such multivariable systems with significant constraint handling. In this paper, model predictive control (MPC) is used for the regulation of Pitch (vertical angle) and Yaw (horizontal angle). The controller is implemented on the linearized model of TRMS. The code is generated based on the model, controller and optimisation equations. The weight matrices, control horizon, output horizon, reference and the matrices generated from MATLAB coding are used as input to the MATLAB Simulation as well as to the real-time Simulation. The results obtained from m-file, Simulation and the Real-time for various references are also included in this paper.