Robust model reference adaptive backstepping sliding-mode control for quadrotor attitude with disturbance observer

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research paper is to design a disturbance observer-based control based on the robust model reference adaptive backstepping sliding-mode control for attitude quadrotor model subject to uncertainties and disturbances.

Design/methodology/approach

To estimate and reject the disturbance, a disturbance observer is designed for the exogenous disturbances with perturbation while a control criterion is developed for the tracking of desired output. To achieve the control performance, backstepping and sliding-mode control techniques are patched together to obtain robust chattering-free controller. Furthermore, a model reference adaptive control criterion is also combined with the design of robust control for the estimation and rejection of uncertainties and unmodeled dynamics of the attitude quadrotor.

Findings

The findings of this research work includes the design of a disturbance observer-based control for uncertain attitude quadrotor system with the ability of achieving tracking control objective in the presence of nonlinear exogenous disturbance with and without perturbation.

Practical implications

In practice, the quadrotor flight is opposed by different kinds of the disturbances. In addition, being an underactuated system, it is difficult to obtain an accurate mathematical model of quadrotor for the control design. Thus, a quadrotor model with uncertainties and disturbances is inevitable. Hence, it is necessary to design a control system with the ability to achieve the control objectives in the presence of uncertainties and disturbances.

Originality/value

Designing the control methods for quadrotor control without uncertainties and disturbances is a common practice. However, investigating the uncertain quadrotor plant in the presence of nonlinear disturbances is rarely taken into consideration for the control design. Hence, this paper presents a control algorithm to address the issues of the uncertainties and disturbances as well as investigate a control algorithm to achieve tracking performance.

Citation

Ahmed, N. and Chen, M. (2021), "Robust model reference adaptive backstepping sliding-mode control for quadrotor attitude with disturbance observer", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 93 No. 7, pp. 1156-1170. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-11-2020-0277