Efficient Path-Following for Urban Logistics: A Fuzzy Control Strategy for Consumer UAVs Under Disturbance Constraints

Abstract

The adoption of consumer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for logistics transportation is a key aspect of the emerging low-altitude economy, yet it faces significant challenges. Urban environments introduce complex obstacles, including dense buildings and unpredictable wind disturbances, while existing control methods struggle to balance path-following accuracy, disturbance rejection, and communication efficiency. To meet these demands, this paper proposes a quantized fuzzy learning path-following control for consumer UAVs. Firstly, a hysteresis quantized fuzzy disturbance observer (HQFDO) is proposed where the disturbances are approximately estimated by a neural network. Notably, a hysteresis quantizer is employed to reduce the communication bandwidth occupation by discretizing disturbance observations. Subsequently, a distributed velocity controller and a heading angle controller are designed to tackle the geometric and dynamic tasks separately. Specifically, the velocity controller introduces a projective arc length error to mitigate inefficiencies and safety risks associated with frequent acceleration and deceleration switches. Compared to conventional techniques, the proposed approach improves transient performance, enhances path attractivity, and optimizes communication resource utilization. Theoretical stability analysis is provided, and simulations validate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.