It is well-known that the multiple sliding surface control was developed to eliminate the problem of ‘‘explosion of complexity’’ inherent in the celebrated backstepping method. In this paper, we extend the multiple sliding surface control method further for systems in nonlinear block controllable form. As an application of the proposed control scheme, the robust attitude control law was synthes...

The research presented in this report focuses on the Whorl II spacecraft simulator in Virginia Tech’s Space Systems Simulation Laboratory (SSSL). The goal of this research is to improve the reliability and accuracy of the magnetometer aboard Whorl II that is used for attitude determination. Magnetic interference surrounding the simulator causes unacceptable margins of error its perceived attitu...

In image-based approaches, a 3D object is usually represented by an Object-Centered Image Set (OCIS), which is a set of images taken from different viewpoints centered on the 3D object. Our objective is to browse such an image-based object by controlling it with a 2D mouse. Traditionally, the movement of the 2D mouse is converted to the 3D rotation angles of Pitch and Yaw only (i.e., not consid...

As airplane designs have trended toward the expansion of flight envelopes into the high angle of attack and high angular rate regimes, concerns regarding modeling the complex unsteady aerodynamics for simulation have arisen. Most current modeling methods still rely on traditional body axis damping coefficients that are measured using techniques which were intended for relatively benign flight c...

ABSTRACT This paper demonstrates a method of estimating several key vehicle states – sideslip angle, longitudinal velocity, roll and grade – by combining automotive grade inertial sensors with a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. Kinematic Kalman filters that are independent of uncertain vehicle parameters integrate the inertial sensors with GPS to provide high update estimates of the ve...

This paper aims to provide an improved ZMP-based CPG model considering pitch and roll inclination. The proposed CPG model is optimized by Self-adaptive Differential Evolutionary Algorithm (SaDE). Simulation results are presented and the effectiveness of the CPG model is shown in snapshot of experiments.

We investigated how three-dimensional (3D) eye position is influenced by static head position relative to gravity, a reflex probably mediated by the otolith organs. In monkeys, the torsional component of eye position is modulated by gravity, but little data is available in humans. Subjects were held in different head/body tilts in roll and pitch for 35 s while we measured 3D eye position with s...

Hummingbirds are nature's masters of aerobatic manoeuvres. Previous research shows that hummingbirds and insects converged evolutionarily upon similar aerodynamic mechanisms and kinematics in hovering. Herein, we use three-dimensional kinematic data to begin to test for similar convergence of kinematics used for escape flight and to explore the effects of body size upon manoeuvring. We studied ...

Altered gravity environments, such as those experienced by astronauts, impact spatial orientation perception, and can lead to spatial disorientation and sensorimotor impairment. To more fully understand and quantify the impact of altered gravity on orientation perception, several mathematical models have been proposed. The utricular shear, tangent, and the idiotropic vector models aim to predic...