System Identification and Control

The aim of the System Identification and Control (SysCon) research group is to fundamentally improve the performance, safety, and efficiency of aircraft and spacecraft by developing and applying new mathematical modelling and control theory. The video below nicely demonstrates this philosophy. In the video one motor of a drone is stopped in-flight to simulate a motor failure. Such as failure would otherwise be fatal, but our state-of-the-art nonlinear fault tolerant controller is not only capable of recovering the drone, but to even conduct a controlled landing.

Our research is focused on the creation and application of models in systems and control theory. This strategy consists of three branches; 1) researching mathematical theories for developing and analyzing model structures; 2) development of new system identification approaches for creating models from input-output data; and 3) application of models in aerospace systems.