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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Schitz, Philipp, Mercorelli, Paolo, Dauer, Johann C.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22714
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author Schitz, Philipp
Mercorelli, Paolo
Dauer, Johann C.
author_facet Schitz, Philipp
Mercorelli, Paolo
Dauer, Johann C.
contents We present a runtime efficient algorithm for autonomous helicopter landings on moving ship decks based on Shrinking-Horizon Model Predictive Control (SHMPC). First, a suitable planning model capturing the relevant aspects of the full nonlinear helicopter dynamics is derived. Next, we use the SHMPC together with a touchdown controller stage to ensure a pre-specified maneuver time and an associated landing time window despite the presence of disturbances. A high disturbance rejection performance is achieved by designing an ancillary controller with disturbance feedback. Thus, given a target position and time, a safe landing with suitable terminal conditions is be guaranteed if the initial optimization problem is feasible. The efficacy of our approach is shown in simulation where all maneuvers achieve a high landing precision in strong winds while satisfying timing and operational constraints with maximum computation times in the millisecond range.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_22714
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Robust Helicopter Ship Deck Landing With Guaranteed Timing Using Shrinking-Horizon Model Predictive Control
Schitz, Philipp
Mercorelli, Paolo
Dauer, Johann C.
Robotics
Systems and Control
We present a runtime efficient algorithm for autonomous helicopter landings on moving ship decks based on Shrinking-Horizon Model Predictive Control (SHMPC). First, a suitable planning model capturing the relevant aspects of the full nonlinear helicopter dynamics is derived. Next, we use the SHMPC together with a touchdown controller stage to ensure a pre-specified maneuver time and an associated landing time window despite the presence of disturbances. A high disturbance rejection performance is achieved by designing an ancillary controller with disturbance feedback. Thus, given a target position and time, a safe landing with suitable terminal conditions is be guaranteed if the initial optimization problem is feasible. The efficacy of our approach is shown in simulation where all maneuvers achieve a high landing precision in strong winds while satisfying timing and operational constraints with maximum computation times in the millisecond range.
title Robust Helicopter Ship Deck Landing With Guaranteed Timing Using Shrinking-Horizon Model Predictive Control
topic Robotics
Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.22714