Advancing Autonomous UAV Trajectory Tracking with Compensation for External Actuator Disturbances

This paper presents the development of a control strategy for trajectory tracking of a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) based on a mathematical model derived from the physical laws applied to the motion and rotation of a rigid body. Also, the dynamics of the actuators are modeled through a parameter identification process using experimental data collection and a least squares approximation. All of this is aimed at generating an auxiliary control loop to assist the UAV in maintaining the desired trajectory even when the actuators are affected by external disturbances. Finally, the performance of the whole control strategy is evaluated using standard control indices.

I. Introduction

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are components that have gained ground in the aeronautical system, especially performing tasks such as exploration, aerial search, precision spraying in agriculture, aerial photography for topographic studies, and many other applications. Due to this, there is a high research interest in developing strategies that enable precise control of UAV s, thanks to the advantages these sys-tems offer over conventional helicopters or airplanes regarding maneuverability, portability, control, and costs [1], [2].