Security finite‐time H∞ output tracking control for unmanned aerial vehicles under denial‐of‐service attack

Abstract This paper focuses on addressing the challenges of finite‐time output tracking control for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with a particular emphasis on security concerns. The potential impact of denial‐of‐service (DoS) attacks on the integrity of measurement‐to‐control communication channels is incorporated into our analysis. Such attacks may disrupt the central control unit's capability to access real‐time measurement data, which encompasses the system states and the reference signal information. Under this consideration, we have formulated sufficient conditions based on the Lyapunov theory, aimed at ensuring that the system's state trajectory remains confined within a pre‐established boundary over a designated time frame. However, note that there are some coupling terms of unknown matrix variables, and the developed conditions are nonlinear and difficult to be solved by some commonly used linear matrix inequality (LMI) techniques. In order to handle the nonlinear and non‐convex constraints in the determination of the controller gains and the finite‐time performance, we have proposed a novel iterative algorithm. The novel presented algorithm mainly combines genetic algorithm with LMI techniques. To validate the effectiveness of our approach, a case study of a UAV networked output tracking control system is conducted and detailed in the final section of this paper.