A Robust Attitude Controller and its Application to Quadrotor Helicopters

Abstract In this paper, a novel nonlinear hierarchical controller for attitude control is proposed. This controller is obtained using Lyapunov methodology. Model uncertainties in the system are estimated on-line based on a time-delay control approach. The robustness of the flight controller is enhanced using an anti-windup integrator technique and semi-global asymptotical stability is proven. The control law obtained is simple enough for an implementation on a small microcontroller. Simulation results for a model of a quadrotor helicopter illustrate the performance of the proposed control algorithm.