Geometric control of quadrotor with finite-time convergence and improved transients

ABSTRACT

A finite-time geometric control of quadrotor has been proposed in this paper by representing the attitude using rotation matrices to avoid the singularities and ambiguities associated with Euler angles and quaternions. One of the unique features of the controller is the use of left tracking error function to simplify controller design. A composite error function is designed and it is proved mathematically that the closed-loop attitude as well as the translational dynamics are finite-time stable. The coordinate invariant approach is another unique features of the proposed method as opposed to the literature. Numerical simulations have been provided at the end to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Simulation results demonstrate better transient performance of the proposed control method as compared to control law presented in the literature.

Keywords:

• Geometric control
• finite-time control
• nonlinear systems
• quadrotors
• robotics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Manmohan Sharma

Manmohan Sharma received his B.E. in 2010 in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi, India. He completed his Master of Technology in Mechatronics and Robotics in 2016 from Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, West Bengal. He is currently pursuing his PhD degree from Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati India in the field of Robotics. His research interest includes Nonlinear Control Theory and its application to Robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Geometric Control and Adaptive Control.

Indrani Kar

Indrani Kar has received the M.Tech. degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India in 2002 and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India in 2008. Currently she is an Associate Professor of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, Assam, India. Her research interests include Nonlinear Systems and Control, Adaptive Control, Soft Computing Applications and Robotics.