Robust Helicopter Ship Deck Landing With Guaranteed Timing Using Shrinking-Horizon Model Predictive Control

Autonomous helicopter ship deck landing requires precise timing, robustness to disturbances, and strict constraint satisfaction. This paper presents a trajectory planning approach based on robust shrinking-horizon Model Predictive Control (SHMPC) with move blocking, enabling computationally efficient planning over long horizons while guaranteeing maneuver completion within a specified time. A simplified control-oriented helicopter model is introduced for trajectory generation, while attitude stabilization is handled by an inner-loop controller. Robustness is achieved using a tube-based formulation with a disturbance-observer-based ancillary controller. A terminal set designed via backward reachability guarantees that the helicopter reaches a state from which a safe touchdown can occur within a prescribed time window. Simulations using a nonlinear model of DLR's midiARTIS demonstrator under strong wind and ship motion demonstrate accurate tracking, constraint satisfaction, and real-time feasibility.