Payload drop application of unmanned quadrotor helicopter using Gain-Scheduled PID and Model Predictive Control techniques

Abstract

In this paper two useful control techniques are applied to a Quadrotor helicopter to control the height and while carrying a payload weighing one-fourth of its total weight as well as dropping the payload at a predetermined time. The first technique used in this paper is the Gain Scheduled Proportional Integral Derivative (GS-PID) control and the Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithm is studied secondly. Both algorithms showed a very promising performance. Finally, both algorithms are successfully implemented on an unmanned quadrotor helicopter testbed (known as Qball-X4) available at the Networked Autonomous Vehicles Lab (NAVL) of Concordia University for height control to demonstrate effectiveness and stability of the two techniques. The results are presented and compared at the last section of this paper. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012.