The Advanced Control Approach based on SMC Design for the High-Fidelity Haptic Power Lever of a Small Hybrid Electric Aircraft

In the serial hybrid electric propulsion system of a small propeller aircraft the battery state of charge is fluctuating due to the diversity of possible power flows. Overwhelming visual information on the cockpit displays, besides requiring visual pilot attention, increases pilot workload, which is undesirable, especially in risky flight situations. Haptic interfaces, on the other hand, can provide intuitive cues that can be applied to enhance and simplify the cockpit. In this paper, we deal with an enhanced power lever stick, which can provide feedback force feel with haptic cues for enhanced information flow between the pilot and the powertrain system. We present selected haptic patterns for specific information related to the fluctuating battery state of charge. The haptic patterns were designed to reduce pilot workload, and for easy use, safe and energy-efficient control of the hybrid electric powertrain system. We focus on the advanced control design for high-performance force feedback required for rendering fine haptic signals, which stimulates the sensitive haptics of a pilot's hand-arm system. The presented control algorithm has been designed by the sliding mode control (SMC) approach in order to provide disturbance rejection and high-fidelity haptic rendering. The proposed control design has been validated on an experimental prototype system.