Optimal Hovering Control of a Tail-sitter via Model-Free Fast Terminal Slide Mode Controller and Cuckoo Search Algorithm

The main purpose in this paper is to present the design process of the model-free-based fast terminal slide mode (MF-FTSM) controller and the implementation of the control structure, for realizing the stability control of the tail-sitter during the hovering process under the interference of the external environment. The designed control algorithm merges the abilities of the fast terminal slide mode control and the model-free control technology so that it has a fast convergence speed and can compensate for the unknown part of the dynamic model. Besides, the cuckoo search method is applied to this study for optimizing the parameters of the designed controller. Finally, verified by the real flight test, the proposed controller has better controlling effect and is more robust than the common slide mode controller, which benefits engineering application.