Backstepping Controller Applied to a Foldable Quadrotor for 3D Trajectory Tracking

This paper presents a novel design and architecture control of a foldable quadrotor. This design is based on a variable geometry that can be changed during the flight. It is able to modify the orientation of its arms independently, thanks to its special morphology. This quadrotor, exploits simple mechanisms i.e. rotating arms. We stress that the control of this category of robots is not obvious compared to the conventional ones. So, a detailed generic model and backstepping control that take into account the variation of the center of gravity and the inertia are presented. Simulation results are also provided in order to illustrate the performances of this controller.