Finite-Time Mass Estimation Using ℋ∞ and Sliding Mode Control for a Multicopter

Nonlinear control theory applied to unmanned aeronautical vehicles is an engineering topic that has received higher and higher popularity during the last decade. Model-based control approaches have shown increased performance in flight control accuracy and robustness compared to model-free proposals based on parameter adaptation and estimation. However, model-based structures need more computational efforts in terms of spatial and temporal variables. To avoid these constraints, the latest drone flight controls are based on quaternion models, ensuring more advanced computational performances. To this aim, this paper deals with a flight control algorithm of a quadrotor, in which the mathematics model of the plant is defined in terms of quaternions. Additionally, when aerial vehicles are used in specific applications such as slung load transportation and agriculture fields, among others, the variation of the mass receives high importance since it could make the entire system unstable. In the same line of ideas, this paper presents a H∞ strategy, combined with a Super-Twisting Sliding-Mode Control, ensuring the control objective of the mass variations identification, and trajectory tracking, to be solved. The stability analysis of the proposed control approach is also discussed, and the quality and performances of the presented control strategy are tested by simulations, in an interesting case in which mass variations and external perturbations cannot be negligible.