A methodology for setting-up a low-cost quadrotor experimental platform

Abstract

Quadrotor vehicles are captivating devices that serve as valuable platforms for testing and developing nonlinear control algorithms due to the pronounced nonlinearities in their dynamics models. Additionally, these platforms are employed for a range of functions, spanning from entertainment to industrial applications. In engineering practice, it is imperative to develop a controller for a quadrotor to fulfill a desired task. Nevertheless, we must perform real-time experiments to assess the controller’s performance effectively. Regardless, this task is challenging due to hardware and software limitations hindering the setup of the experimental platform and deployment of the controller. Therefore, it is essential to have a functional experimental platform for validating the performance of different control methodologies. With this objective in mind, this manuscript develops a step-by-step procedure for setting up a low-cost quadrotor testbed. To better understand the process, tutorial videos were generated to walk the reader through the steps required to implement a given controller successfully. Furthermore, an academic example employing a new Observer-based Proportional Integral Derivative controller is applied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The experimental results verify the novel method’s efficiency despite the inherent hardware and software limitations or the influence effect of the inevitable endogenous and exogenous perturbations.