Hybrid PD-Fuzzy and PD Controllers for Trajectory Tracking of a Quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle: Autopilot Designs and Real-Time Flight Tests

Abstract

This paper presents a hybrid nonlinear control system, comprising of a conventional proportional-differential (PD) controller and a PD-type fuzzy logic autopilot for the trajectory tracking of a quadcopter drone. Given the inherent nature of traditional control, which is model-based, and the essence of fuzzy logic control, which is knowledge-based, the proposed hybrid controllers can provide a more robust solution in the face of uncertainties. Both controllers operate in a parallel incremental form to improve the transient performance and the robustness of the closed-loop control system. Through extensive computer simulations supported by real-time flight tests, this paper highlights the efficacy of the proposed hybrid control system in the presence of some parameter variations, nonlinear aerodynamic models, and some external disturbances (e.g., wind gusts). The Dryden and 1–cos turbulence models are employed to represent the effects of wind gusts under realistic flight environments. The stability analysis of the closed-loop control system is conducted using Lyapunov’s indirect method.