Rigid-Body Pose Hybrid Control Using Dual Quaternions: Global Asymptotic Stabilization and Robustness

A hybrid feedback control scheme is proposed for stabilization of rigid-body dynamics (position, orientation, and velocities) using unit dual quaternions, in which the dual quaternions and velocities are used for feedback. Specifically, both set-point stabilization and tracking control are addressed in this work. It is well known that rigid-body attitude control is subject to topological constraints, which often result in discontinuous control to avoid the unwinding phenomenon. In contrast, the hybrid scheme allows the controlled system to be robust in the presence of uncertainties, which would otherwise cause chattering about the point of discontinuous control while also ensuring acceptable closed-loop response characteristics. The stability of the closed-loop system is guaranteed through a Lyapunov analysis and the use of an invariance principle for hybrid systems. Simulation results for a rigid-body model are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed hybrid dual-quaternion feedback control schemes.