A hybrid high-performance trajectory tracking controller for unmanned hexrotor with disturbance rejection

This article addresses the problem of designing and experimentally validating a controller for steering an unmanned hexrotor along a trajectory while rejecting the lumped disturbance. Based on the developed nonlinear dynamical model, a hybrid high-performance trajectory tracking controller is designed. In this control scheme, a linear active disturbance rejection control technology is introduced to stabilize the attitude loop, and an integral backstepping control methodology is employed to control the position loop. Subsequently, the performance of the proposed flight control strategy is tested in a simulation environment. The developed algorithms are then transplanted to a real system. A prototype and a flight experiment are established to verify its effectiveness. Experimental results are presented to show that the actual trajectory closely matches well with the ideal one. It demonstrates that the proposed controller provides good performance and robustness.