A study of control laws for a quadrotor drone

Abstract

This dissertation focused on the study of control laws for a quadrotor drone. It introduces the basic operation of a quadrotor and derives a mathematical model using Newton-Euler formalism. The basic architecture of a quadrotor system is also explained. A linear model was derived by introducing certain assumptions and was compared to the actual model. Hence, linear controllers were designed in continuous time for the roll, pitch, yaw and height of the quadrotor based on the linear model. These controllers were simulated thoroughly and converted to discrete time using two different techniques. Furthermore, the parameters of the quad rotor were obtained experimentally and mathematically. Finally, the controllers were implemented on the microcontroller and tested. Stands were used to test the attitude of the quadrotor. After some tuning, the attitude controllers worked as desired but improvements could be made.