Robust fault-tolerant control of quadrotors under simultaneous multiple faults and input/state delays

Abstract

In this article, a robust fault-tolerant control strategy is proposed to effectively manage the challenges associated with tracking the position and attitude of a quadrotor. From a practical perspective, a robust controller is designed for the quadrotor to effectively manage faults in actuators and sensors, external disturbances, and uncertainties in design and modeling. Furthermore, input and state delays are also considered alongside these challenges. To achieve this, a fault-tolerant control mechanism is designed and combined with a dynamic sliding mode controller to mitigate the negative effects of delays, disturbances, and uncertainties. The robust stability and performance of the proposed methods are first demonstrated using the Lyapunov theory. To verify the technique's effectiveness and feasibility, high-fidelity simulations and experiments are conducted with a Speedgoat real-time target machine, and the results are compared with two existing state of the art approaches. The results demonstrate a high convergence rate and enhanced resilience in navigating complex paths despite various faults, delays, and uncertainties.