An effective proportional-double derivative-linear quadratic regulator controller for quadcopter attitude and altitude control

Abstract

A quadcopter control system is a fundamentally difficult and challenging problem because its dynamics modelling is highly nonlinear, especially after accounting for the complicated aerodynamic effects. Plus, its variables are highly interdependent and coupled in nature. There are six controllers studied and analysed in this work which are (1) Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID), (2) Proportional-Derivative (PD), (3) Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR), (4) Proportional-Linear Quadratic Regulator (P-LQR), (5) Proportional-Derivative-Linear Quadratic Regulator (PD-LQR) and lastly (6) the proposed controller named Proportional-Double Derivative-Linear Quadratic Regulator (PD2-LQR) controller. The altitude control and attitude stabilization of the quadcopter have been investigated using MATLAB/Simulink software. The mathematical model of the quadcopter using the Newton–Euler approach is applied to these controllers has illuminated the attitude (i.e. pitch, yaw, and roll) and altitude motions of the quadcopter. The simulation results of the proposed PD2-LQR controller have been compared with the PD, PID, LQR, P-LQR, and PD-LQR controllers. The findings elucidated that the proposed PD2-LQR controller significantly improves the performance of the control system in almost all responses. Hence, the proposed PD2-LQR controller can be applied as an alternative controller of all four motions in quadcopters