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Perching of quadrotor using adaptive second-order continuous control in the presence of uncertainties
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  • Published: 12 February 2026

Perching of quadrotor using adaptive second-order continuous control in the presence of uncertainties

  • Sandeep Gupta1,
  • Anuj Nandanwar3,
  • Narendra Kumar Dhar2,
  • Laxmidhar Behera1,2 &
  • …
  • Suvendu Samanta1 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

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  • Engineering
  • Mathematics and computing

Abstract

The perching maneuver enables a quadrotor to make stable contact with vertical surfaces for prolonged monitoring, which significantly enhances mission endurance and energy efficiency in inspection and surveillance tasks. To achieve a stable perching maneuver, this study proposes an adaptive second-order continuous control (ASOCC) in contact-based inspection applications. A novel finite-time convergent disturbance observer compensates model uncertainties and external disturbances, including aerodynamic and wall effects. The closed-loop Lyapunov stability of the proposed observer-controller system is also established. The effectiveness of the ASOCC strategy is validated through extensive simulation studies under various conditions, including step response, model uncertainties, and external disturbances. Comparative evaluations against existing control strategies reveal that the proposed method offers higher precision, stronger robustness, and better resistance to external disturbances when assessed through standard tracking error-based performance indices. Additionally, experimental trials verify that the quadrotor consistently performs a stable perching maneuver on vertical walls under both indoor and outdoor conditions.

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Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016, India

    Sandeep Gupta, Laxmidhar Behera & Suvendu Samanta

  2. School of Computing and Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, 175005, India

    Narendra Kumar Dhar & Laxmidhar Behera

  3. IIT Mandi iHub and HCI Foundation, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, 175005, India

    Anuj Nandanwar

Authors
  1. Sandeep Gupta
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  2. Anuj Nandanwar
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Contributions

Sandeep Gupta and Laxmidhar Behera conceived the experiment(s), Sandeep Gupta conducted the experiment(s), Anuj Nandanwar, Narendra Kumar Dhar and Suvendu Samanta analysed the results. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sandeep Gupta.

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Gupta, S., Nandanwar, A., Dhar, N.K. et al. Perching of quadrotor using adaptive second-order continuous control in the presence of uncertainties. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36857-9

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  • Received: 08 August 2025

  • Accepted: 16 January 2026

  • Published: 12 February 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36857-9

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