Robust tracking output-control for a quad-rotor: A continuous sliding-mode approach

This paper deals with the problem of robust tracking output-control design for a Quad-Rotor. The proposed approach is based on continuous sliding-modes control (SMC) techniques and it is able to robustly track a desired trajectory for the Quad-Rotor despite some class of disturbances acting on the system. Such a robust tracking control is composed of a finite-time sliding-mode observer (SMO) and cascaded continuous SMCs providing uniform finite-time stability and uniform exponential stability, for the vertical and yaw tracking error, and for the horizontal tracking error, respectively; despite the disturbances on the system, and only using the measurable positions and angles. Simulation results illustrate the feasibility of the proposed tracking strategy. (C) 2017 The Franklin Institute. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.