Discrete Finite-time Stable Attitude Tracking Control of Unmanned Vehicles on SO(3)

This paper presents a finite-time stable (FTS) attitude tracking control scheme in discrete time for an unmanned vehicle. The attitude tracking control scheme guarantees discrete-time stability of the feedback system in finite time. This scheme is developed in discrete time as it is more convenient for onboard computer implementation and guarantees stability irrespective of sampling period. Finite-time stability analysis of the discrete-time tracking control is carried out using discrete Lyapunov analysis. This tracking control scheme ensures stable convergence of attitude tracking errors to the desired trajectory in finite time. The advantages of finite-time stabilization in discrete time over finite-time stabilization of a sampled continuous time tracking control system is addressed in this paper through a numerical comparison. This comparison is performed using numerical simulations on continuous and discrete FTS tracking control schemes applied to an unmanned vehicle model.