Online Continual Physics-Informed Learning for Quadrotor State Estimation Under Wind-Induced Disturbances

Accurate state estimation for quadrotors under wind-induced disturbances remains a critical challenge in dynamic outdoor environments. Existing model-based and data-driven approaches often struggle with real-time adaptation and catastrophic forgetting when faced with continuous wind disturbances. This paper proposes an online continual physics-informed learning framework that integrates physics-informed neural networks with continual backpropagation to address these limitations. The physics-informed neural networks architecture embeds quadrotor dynamics into the neural network training process, ensuring physical consistency, while continual backpropagation enables continual learning from real-time streaming data without compromising previously acquired knowledge. Experimental validation on a simulation platform demonstrates the accuracy and robustness of the framework in ideal and wind-disturbed scenarios.