Adaptive Nonlinear Stabilization Control for a Quadrotor UAV: Theory, Simulation and Experimentation

In this paper an adaptive control scheme along with its simulation, and its implementation on a quadrotor are presented. Parametric and non- parametric uncertainties in the quadrotor model make it difficult to design a controller that works properly in various conditions during flight time. Decentralized adaptive controller, which is synthesized based on improved Lyapunov-based Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) technique, is suggested to solve the problem. The proposed control scheme does not need knowing the value of any physical parameter for generating appropriate control signals, and retuning the controller is not required for different payloads. An accurate simulation that includes empirical dynamic model of battery, sensors, and actuators is performed to validate the stability of the closed loop system. The simulation study simplifies implementation of the controller on our real quadrotor. A practical algorithm is proposed to alleviate and accelerate the tuning of controller parameters. The controller is implemented on the quadrotor to stabilize its attitude and altitude. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and robustness of the proposed controller.