A Review of Modeling and Control Techniques for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

ABSTRACT Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), particularly quadcopters, have found growing applications across diverse sectors such as surveillance, precision agriculture, and transport. However, their nonlinear dynamics, underactuated systems, and sensitivity to disturbances present persistent challeng...

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Main Authors: Elisabeth Andarge Gedefaw, Nardos Belay Abera, Chala Merga Abdissa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-06-01
Series:Engineering Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.70215
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author Elisabeth Andarge Gedefaw
Nardos Belay Abera
Chala Merga Abdissa
author_facet Elisabeth Andarge Gedefaw
Nardos Belay Abera
Chala Merga Abdissa
author_sort Elisabeth Andarge Gedefaw
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), particularly quadcopters, have found growing applications across diverse sectors such as surveillance, precision agriculture, and transport. However, their nonlinear dynamics, underactuated systems, and sensitivity to disturbances present persistent challenges in achieving robust and autonomous control. This review systematically examines advancements in UAV modeling and control techniques over the past five years. The study evaluates key modeling frameworks, Newton–Euler, Newton–Quaternion, and Geometry‐Based Stochastic Models (GBSM), and analyzes a spectrum of control strategies, including observer‐based, sliding mode, H‐infinity, model predictive, and neural network‐based controllers. Through a comparative assessment of their robustness, computational efficiency, and adaptability, the manuscript identifies critical limitations in handling uncertainties, scalability in UAV systems, and energy constraints. The findings highlight that hybrid control strategies incorporating adaptive mechanisms, learning‐based algorithms, and quaternion‐based modeling offer significant potential for enhancing autonomy and control. Therefore, this review provides a foundational roadmap for researchers and practitioners aiming to develop intelligent, efficient, and scalable UAV control systems capable of thriving in dynamic operational environments.
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spelling doaj-art-1938f80058a3442f99cb7bcffeab94292025-08-20T02:22:14ZengWileyEngineering Reports2577-81962025-06-0176n/an/a10.1002/eng2.70215A Review of Modeling and Control Techniques for Unmanned Aerial VehiclesElisabeth Andarge Gedefaw0Nardos Belay Abera1Chala Merga Abdissa2School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa EthiopiaSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa EthiopiaSchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa EthiopiaABSTRACT Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), particularly quadcopters, have found growing applications across diverse sectors such as surveillance, precision agriculture, and transport. However, their nonlinear dynamics, underactuated systems, and sensitivity to disturbances present persistent challenges in achieving robust and autonomous control. This review systematically examines advancements in UAV modeling and control techniques over the past five years. The study evaluates key modeling frameworks, Newton–Euler, Newton–Quaternion, and Geometry‐Based Stochastic Models (GBSM), and analyzes a spectrum of control strategies, including observer‐based, sliding mode, H‐infinity, model predictive, and neural network‐based controllers. Through a comparative assessment of their robustness, computational efficiency, and adaptability, the manuscript identifies critical limitations in handling uncertainties, scalability in UAV systems, and energy constraints. The findings highlight that hybrid control strategies incorporating adaptive mechanisms, learning‐based algorithms, and quaternion‐based modeling offer significant potential for enhancing autonomy and control. Therefore, this review provides a foundational roadmap for researchers and practitioners aiming to develop intelligent, efficient, and scalable UAV control systems capable of thriving in dynamic operational environments.https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.70215Newton–EulerNewton–QuaternionquadcopterUAVs
spellingShingle Elisabeth Andarge Gedefaw
Nardos Belay Abera
Chala Merga Abdissa
A Review of Modeling and Control Techniques for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Engineering Reports
Newton–Euler
Newton–Quaternion
quadcopter
UAVs
title A Review of Modeling and Control Techniques for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
title_full A Review of Modeling and Control Techniques for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
title_fullStr A Review of Modeling and Control Techniques for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
title_full_unstemmed A Review of Modeling and Control Techniques for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
title_short A Review of Modeling and Control Techniques for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
title_sort review of modeling and control techniques for unmanned aerial vehicles
topic Newton–Euler
Newton–Quaternion
quadcopter
UAVs
url https://doi.org/10.1002/eng2.70215
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