Flight Control System Simulation for Quadcopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based on Matlab Simulink

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are widely used in military and civilian applications due to its advantages of strong maneuverability. Flight control system simulation of a UAV is always a research focus. At present, there are three major algorithms for a UAV flight control: strapdown inertial navigation system, Kalman filter algorithm, flight control Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) algorithm. In this study, UAV flight control system and quadcopter drone flight control principle are discussed. In addition, this research developed a dynamic model based on a thorough examination of the quadcopter drone’s frame construction and features. This dynamic model describes the transformation matrix of UAV coordinate system to ground coordinate system. Matlab Simulink was used to simulate a flight control system. A quadcopter drone’s vertical movement, yaw motion, pitching motion, and roll motion, as well as its flight attitude, were simulated and described. Dynamic modeling is developed based on the drone’s flight principle and force relationship in different motion states, as well as the Newton-Eulerian model. Matlab Simulink was used to simulate the trajectory of a quadcopter drone. The red line denotes the trajectory, while the black x markings denote a change in trajectory or a specific position. Blue lines that reflect the waypoint’s heading accompany specific poses. The results of this study could provide a good reference for the simulation of a UAV flight control system.