Disturbance observer-based nonlinear control of a quadrotor UAV

Abstract

This paper proposes a nonlinear backstepping-based trajectory tracking control for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle. By incorporating a disturbance observer, the method provides globally exponentially stable tracking error dynamics in the presence of constant force and torque disturbances for position tracking. For time-varying disturbances, the tracking error is proven to be ultimately bounded. Simulation results illustrates the robust performance and reduced complexity of the proposed control law.