Open AccessFlight evaluation of simultaneous actuator/sensor fault reconstruction on a quadrotor minidrone
Author(s) -
Waitman S.,
Alwi H.,
Edwards C.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
iet control theory and applications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.059
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1751-8652
pISSN - 1751-8644
DOI - 10.1049/cth2.12180
Subject(s) - observer (physics) , actuator , control theory (sociology) , fault detection and isolation , nonlinear system , linear matrix inequality , engineering , control engineering , computer science , state observer , fault (geology) , artificial intelligence , control (management) , mathematics , mathematical optimization , physics , quantum mechanics , seismology , geology
In view of the increase in the number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the commercial and private sectors, it is imperative to make sure that such systems are safe, and thus resilient to faults and failures. This paper considers the numerical design and practical implementation of a linear parameter‐varying (LPV) sliding mode observer for Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) of a quadrotor minidrone. Starting from a nonlinear model of the minidrone, an LPV model is extracted for design, and the observer synthesis procedure, using Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI), is detailed. Simulations of the observer FDD show good performance. The observer is then implemented on a Parrot ® Rolling Spider minidrone and a series of flight tests is performed to assess the FDD capabilities in real time using its on‐board processing power. The flight tests confirm the performance obtained in simulation, and show that the sliding mode observer is able to provide reliable fault reconstruction for quadrotor minidrone systems.