Design and Implementation of Low-Cost Attitude Quaternion Sensor

Abstract

In this chapter, the development of a low-cost attitude sensor is introduced. In the previous chapters, the control system design method of several UAVs/MAVs with rotary wings was shown, and several kinds of controllers were designed. The most important controller is the attitude controller because if attitude control is not achieved, any other control such as velocity and position controls cannot be achieved. For achieving attitude control, it is necessary to measure the attitude of UAV/MAV. Hence, we require an attitude sensor. However, conventional attitude sensors are somewhat expensive and heavy, and they cannot be used for the attitude control of small UAVs and MAVs. Therefore, the design of an attitude estimation algorithm by using low-cost sensors, accelerometers, gyro sensors, and magnetic sensor is introduced. Finally, a low-cost attitude sensor has been developed and evaluated by comparing it with a conventional high-accuracy sensor.