Modelling and control of a tethered drone for an AWE application

Abstract

This paper proposes a nonlinear control strategy to achieve autonomous take-off and landing of a drone-based tethered Magnus flying device. This flying device is used in airborne wind energy system that converts wind energy into electricity. A 3D model is constructed and used to design a feedback linearization controller to obtain the desired flight trajectories. Simulation results with an illustrated realistic model indicate good performance and robustness in different flying conditions. This complex and realistic simulation environment supports real experimental testing.