Control system design of spatial disorientation trainer

Abstract

The spatial disorientation trainer (SDT) is a dynamic flight simulator used to enhance ability of pilots of modern combat aircrafts to deal with dangerous effects of spatial disorientation. This device can be modeled and controlled as 4DoF robot manipulator. In this paper, control system design of SDT based on a dynamic model is presented. Two control strategies are compared: 1) computed torque method with feedforward compensation of nonlinearities and cross-coupling effects in dynamic model; 2) single joint (decentralized) PD position controller. PD controller is designed for the actuator model which includes inertia reflected on rotor shafts (effective inertia). Position feedback design considers structural natural frequencies of the manipulator. Effective inertias of SDT for commanded motions are obtained from robot inverse dynamic model which is developed using recursive Newton-Euler equations. Simulation of position tracking for commanded motion is performed in Matlab Simulink.