An Analytical Dynamics Approach for Nonlinear Trajectory-Tracking Control of Quadrotors: Numerical and Experimental Results

Abstract

This paper presents an alternative approach for nonlinear trajectory-tracking control of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on analytical dynamics and quaternion theories. The equations of motion of constrained mechanical systems are reinterpreted as a solution for obtaining an explicit nonlinear control law. In addition, practical control aspects and the impact of nonidealities are investigated by providing qualitative and quantitative comparisons between simulated and experimental results. Numerical simulations demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed controller to track desired trajectories with very small tracking error for simple as well as aggressive or sharp trajectories. Using common open-source solutions, real-world implementation feasibility, performance, and limitations of the control method are discussed.