Adaptive PID for controlling a quadrotor in a virtual outdoor scenario: Simulation study

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to develop a robust control methodology for unmanned aerial vehicles such as a quadrotor. A conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is augmented with adaptive KP or non-adaptive KP in a throttle input and the both cases are compared and analyzed. Adaptive KP is suitable for a system which is subjected to parameter uncertainty, such as variation in payload or wind speed, as the algorithm is able to adjust the KP gain of the PID controller so that they maintain robustness and performance. The performance results of the two controllers when applied to a quadrotor are demonstrated using numerical simulation.