Parameter Estimation of Unstable Aircraft using Extreme Learning Machine

Abstract

The parameter estimation of unstable aircraft using extreme learning machine method is presented. In the past, conventional methods such as output error method, filter error method, equation error method and non-conventional method such as artificial neural-network based methods have been used for aircraft’s aerodynamic parameter estimation. Nowadays, a trend of finding an accurate nonlinear function approximation is required to represent the aircraft’s equations-of-motion. Such type of nonlinear function approximation is usually achieved using artificial neural-network which is trained with the aircraft input-output flight data using a training algorithm. The accuracy of estimated parameters, which is achieved using the trained network, is highly dependent on the generalisation capability of the network which can be improved using extreme learning machine based network in contrast to artificial neural-network. To estimate the unstable aircraft parameters from the simulated flight data, Gauss-Newton based optimisation method has been used with a predefined aerodynamic model using the trained network. Further, the confidence of the estimated parameters has been shown in comparison to that of the standard parameter estimation methods in terms of the Cramer-Rao bounds.