Control Strategies for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Summary
Control strategies for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have evolved from classical proportional–integral–derivative (PID) schemes to advanced nonlinear and learning-based methods capable of handling the intrinsic underactuation, strong coupling and external disturbances characteristic of rotary- and fixed-wing platforms. Dual-loop architectures separate inner-loop attitude stabilisation from outer-loop position or path tracking. Robust and adaptive techniques such as sliding mode control, backstepping and disturbance observers ensure resilience to model uncertainties and wind effects. Iterative learning and model predictive control approaches leverage repeatable missions and constrained optimisation to refine trajectory following. Emerging research integrates machine-learning algorithms for perception-driven autonomy, enabling real-time adaptation to unstructured environments and dense urban airspace. Across all strategies, Lyapunov-based stability analyses remain the foundation for guaranteeing convergence and safety, while increasing computational capabilities have expanded the feasibility of onboard real-time optimisation and sensor fusion for fault-tolerant flight.
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Control Strategies for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in control strategies for unmanned aerial vehicles across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Underactuated system: A dynamic system with fewer independent actuators than degrees of freedom.
Sliding Mode Control: A robust control technique that drives system trajectories onto a predefined sliding surface and maintains them despite disturbances.
Backstepping: A recursive nonlinear control design method that constructs stabilising functions step by step, ensuring Lyapunov stability.
Disturbance Observer: A mechanism estimating external perturbations acting on a system to enhance control robustness and compensation.
Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL): The capability of an aircraft to ascend and descend vertically without requiring a runway.
References
- Autonomous eVTOL: A summary of researches and challenges. Green Energy and Intelligent Transportation (2024).
- Robust Backstepping Sliding Mode Control for a Quadrotor Trajectory Tracking Application. IEEE Access (2019).
- Optimal Path Following for Small Fixed-Wing UAVs Under Wind Disturbances. IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology (2020).
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