Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation For UAV Based On MATLAB

Recently, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle(UAV)and its flight control technology have drawn considerable attention, due to their promising benefits in both civilian and military applications. This field has been studied quite extensively in the recent years. The advanced control system is the key of improving system performance, security and efficiency. Hardware-in-the-loop simulation provides us a good means to recognize problems as early as possible in the developing process of UAV flight control system. Simultaneity, such a control system testing environment also provides a technical means to optimize its hardware and software under real-time conditions.According to the characteristics and new technical requirements of UAV flight control system, this thesis is engaged in researching on the hardware-in-the-loop simulation techniques of UAV flight control system based on MATLAB.This paper elaborated the essential technology and the realization method based on host PC and target PC model which can be established to provide the functions such as flight control system hardware-in-the-loop simulation platform. Firstly, system is established by Simulink; then, the RTW and the xPC Target toolboxes based on MATLAB are adopted to translate these models into real-time codes, and to construct the hardware-in-the-loop simulation platform through the actual hardware I/O interface; Finally, an actual system of hardware-in-the-loop simulation for a certain UAV is developed and realized, the results is presented, which is also validating the excellent performances of the simulation system.The results of its simulation, prove that the technique of hardware-in-the-loop simulation via Matlab is available and feasible for flight control system of UAV. This technique can transform PC into the real-time system, and takes it as the realization platform of flight control system, it also has the characteristics of general, fast, extendible, low cost, and so on. The successful research of this technique has a significant project and application values in flight control system simulation of UAV.