Passive Position Control of a Quadrotor With Ground Effect Interaction

Quadrotors flying close to the ground experience a force resisting their descent known as ground effect. In this letter, we use ground effect to provide passive position stability of a quadrotor. We analyze stability of a quadrotor with canted rotors flying in a sloped ground channel. Flying a 200 g quadrotor in a sloped channel, we demonstrate position keeping and identify the most effective configuration, combining low settling time, low overshoot, and fast response.