Novel Lyapunov-Based Autonomous Controllers for Quadrotors

In this paper, we look into the dynamic motion planning and control of an unmanned aerial vehicle, namely, the quadrotor, governed by its dynamical equations. It is shown for the first time that the Direct or the Second Method of Lyapunov is an effective tool to derive a set of continuous nonlinear control laws that not only provide smooth trajectories from a designated initial position to a designated target, but also continuously minimise the roll and pitch of the quadrotor en route to its targets. The latter successfully addresses the challenging problem of a quadrotor autonomously transporting valuable and fragile payloads safely to the designated target. Computer simulations are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control laws.