Helicopter Ship Landing Envelope for Model Predictive Control

A method of defining and constructing a landing envelope is proposed and demonstrated on a model predictive control (MPC) algorithm used to land a helicopter on a moving ship. The dimensions explored for the landing envelope construction are the ship average velocity and the time prescribed to the control algorithm to land the helicopter. The landing envelope is characterized by the likelihood of landing success in given conditions. The substitution of hard constraints with soft constraints to enhance the landing envelope is also explored. Numerous simulated landings are performed and analyzed to develop landing envelopes.