An autopilot system for a quadrotor

Abstract

This thesis focused on the study of a quadrotor vehicle. It introduces the basic movements that can be performed by a symmetrical quadrotor during flight followed by a derivation of a mathematical model using the Newton-Euler formalism. Based on this dynamic model, a set of equations were used to simulate the system and design linear controllers to control the roll, pitch, yaw and height. A platform was developed using the necessary components and electronics. To finalize the simulation, the parameters of the quadrotor and its components were obtained either experimentally or mathematically. The quadrotor was tested and tuned on stands which allow it to rotate on the axis that is being tested. Finally it was tested in indoor flights. The attitude controllers performed as desired within a small error band while the height controller performed in a larger but acceptable error band. This allowed for stable autonomous flight with the possibility of performing manoeuvres to change the position of the quadrotor.