Title | Differential Flatness of Quadrotor Dynamics Subject to Rotor Drag for Accurate Tracking of High-Speed Trajectories |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2018 |
Authors | Faessler, M, Franchi, A, Scaramuzza, D |
Journal | IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters |
Volume | 3 |
Issue | 2 |
Pagination | 620-626 |
Date Published | 04/2018 |
Abstract | In this paper, we prove that the dynamical model of a quadrotor subject to linear rotor drag effects is differentially flat in its position and heading. We use this property to compute feed-forward control terms directly from a reference trajectory to be tracked. The obtained feed-forward terms are then used in a cascaded, nonlinear feedback control law that enables accurate agile flight with quadrotors. Compared to state-of-the-art control methods, which treat the rotor drag as an unknown disturbance, our method reduces the trajectory tracking error significantly. Finally, we present a method based on a gradient-free optimization to identify the rotor drag coefficients, which are required to compute the feed-forward control terms. The new theoretical results are thoroughly validated trough extensive comparative experiments. |
Notes | Also selected for presentation at the 2018 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation, Brisbane , Australia |
DOI | 10.1109/LRA.2017.2776353 |
Citation Key | 2018c-FaeFraSca |
Attachment | Size |
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preprint-pdf | 6.21 MB |
video | 10.14 MB |