Robust Position Control of VTOL UAVs Using a Linear Quadratic Rate-Varying Integral Tracker: Design and Validation
This article presents an optimal tracking controller retrofitted with a nonlinear adaptive integral compensator, specifically designed to ensure robust and accurate positioning of Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that utilize contra-rotating motorized propellers f...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Drones |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/9/1/73 |
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| author | Omer Saleem Muhammad Kazim Jamshed Iqbal |
| author_facet | Omer Saleem Muhammad Kazim Jamshed Iqbal |
| author_sort | Omer Saleem |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article presents an optimal tracking controller retrofitted with a nonlinear adaptive integral compensator, specifically designed to ensure robust and accurate positioning of Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that utilize contra-rotating motorized propellers for differential thrust generation. The baseline position controller is synthesized by employing a fixed-gain Linear Quadratic Integral (LQI) tracking controller that stabilizes position by tracking both state variations and pitch-axis tracking error integral, which adjusts the voltage to control each coaxial propeller’s speed accurately. Additionally, the baseline tracking control law is supplemented with a rate-varying integral compensator. It operates as a nonlinear scaling function of the tracking-error velocity and the braking acceleration to enhance the accuracy of reference tracking without sacrificing its robustness against exogenous disruptions. The controller’s performance is analyzed by performing experiments on a tailored hardware-in-the-loop aero-pendulum testbed, which is representative of VTOL UAV dynamics. Experimental results demonstrate significant improvements over the nominal LQI tracking controller, achieving 17.9%, 61.6%, 83.4%, 43.7%, 35.8%, and 6.8% enhancement in root mean squared error, settling time, overshoot during start-up, overshoot under impulsive disturbance, disturbance recovery time, and control energy expenditure, respectively, underscoring the controller’s effectiveness for potential UAV and drone applications under exogenous disturbances. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-104e4033c15f410b974395c0529eda89 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2504-446X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Drones |
| spelling | doaj-art-104e4033c15f410b974395c0529eda892025-01-24T13:29:53ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2025-01-01917310.3390/drones9010073Robust Position Control of VTOL UAVs Using a Linear Quadratic Rate-Varying Integral Tracker: Design and ValidationOmer Saleem0Muhammad Kazim1Jamshed Iqbal2Department of Electrical Engineering, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Lahore 54770, PakistanCenter for Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi 127788, United Arab EmiratesSchool of Computer Science, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UKThis article presents an optimal tracking controller retrofitted with a nonlinear adaptive integral compensator, specifically designed to ensure robust and accurate positioning of Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that utilize contra-rotating motorized propellers for differential thrust generation. The baseline position controller is synthesized by employing a fixed-gain Linear Quadratic Integral (LQI) tracking controller that stabilizes position by tracking both state variations and pitch-axis tracking error integral, which adjusts the voltage to control each coaxial propeller’s speed accurately. Additionally, the baseline tracking control law is supplemented with a rate-varying integral compensator. It operates as a nonlinear scaling function of the tracking-error velocity and the braking acceleration to enhance the accuracy of reference tracking without sacrificing its robustness against exogenous disruptions. The controller’s performance is analyzed by performing experiments on a tailored hardware-in-the-loop aero-pendulum testbed, which is representative of VTOL UAV dynamics. Experimental results demonstrate significant improvements over the nominal LQI tracking controller, achieving 17.9%, 61.6%, 83.4%, 43.7%, 35.8%, and 6.8% enhancement in root mean squared error, settling time, overshoot during start-up, overshoot under impulsive disturbance, disturbance recovery time, and control energy expenditure, respectively, underscoring the controller’s effectiveness for potential UAV and drone applications under exogenous disturbances.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/9/1/73VTOL UAVsposition trackinglinear quadratic integral controlrate-varying integral compensatorhyperbolic functionhardware-in-the-loop validation |
| spellingShingle | Omer Saleem Muhammad Kazim Jamshed Iqbal Robust Position Control of VTOL UAVs Using a Linear Quadratic Rate-Varying Integral Tracker: Design and Validation Drones VTOL UAVs position tracking linear quadratic integral control rate-varying integral compensator hyperbolic function hardware-in-the-loop validation |
| title | Robust Position Control of VTOL UAVs Using a Linear Quadratic Rate-Varying Integral Tracker: Design and Validation |
| title_full | Robust Position Control of VTOL UAVs Using a Linear Quadratic Rate-Varying Integral Tracker: Design and Validation |
| title_fullStr | Robust Position Control of VTOL UAVs Using a Linear Quadratic Rate-Varying Integral Tracker: Design and Validation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Robust Position Control of VTOL UAVs Using a Linear Quadratic Rate-Varying Integral Tracker: Design and Validation |
| title_short | Robust Position Control of VTOL UAVs Using a Linear Quadratic Rate-Varying Integral Tracker: Design and Validation |
| title_sort | robust position control of vtol uavs using a linear quadratic rate varying integral tracker design and validation |
| topic | VTOL UAVs position tracking linear quadratic integral control rate-varying integral compensator hyperbolic function hardware-in-the-loop validation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/9/1/73 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT omersaleem robustpositioncontrolofvtoluavsusingalinearquadraticratevaryingintegraltrackerdesignandvalidation AT muhammadkazim robustpositioncontrolofvtoluavsusingalinearquadraticratevaryingintegraltrackerdesignandvalidation AT jamshediqbal robustpositioncontrolofvtoluavsusingalinearquadraticratevaryingintegraltrackerdesignandvalidation |