H ∞ Control law for line of sight stabilization in two-axis gimbal system

Abstract

A two-axis gimbaled stabilization system in air vehicles must stabilize the line of sight of the payload toward a target against the external motion induced by air vehicle maneuvering and aerodynamic forces. The target tracking and pointing performances of the air vehicles are largely affected by air vehicle motion decoupling capability. In this work, the $H_{\infty }$ controller design is carried out for a two-axis gimbal system. The plant model is generated using experimental frequency response data and mathematical formulation of the system. The mixed sensitivity problem is posed and weighting functions are selected so that they not only fulfill all the design goals but also accommodate the modeling uncertainties. The stabilization loop is designed and implemented in digital signal processor-based hardware for only one axis (in azimuth).