The aeronautic industry was among the first to introduce anti-skid systems to assist the pilot in controlling the longitudinal aircraft dynamics in ground handling maneuvers by avoiding wheel-locking and minimizing braking distance. However, in the lateral direction, aircraft have mostly continued using anti-skid systems with simple strategies to reduce the introduction of unwanted yaw moments during ground handling. As such, most of the workload associated with maintaining directional stability falls on the pilot, who must operate multiple actuators and correct any potential asymmetry that deviates the aircraft from its intended path. The safety benefits attainable by dedicated lateral stability assistance for pilots mean that there is an industrial interest in introducing these kinds of systems for both current and advanced next-generation aircraft.

In this seminar, I will cover some of my research aimed at developing advanced ground handling control systems for aircraft to improve stability, maneuverability, and safety. The strategies developed address the complex on-ground dynamics during high-speed ground handling maneuvers, the interaction with the safety-critical anti-skid control system, the multiplicity of actuators, the possibility of system failures, and the generation of unwanted couplings between the pilot and the ground handling control system, a dreaded phenomenon known as pilot-induced oscillations.