Integrated PID controller design for an unmanned aerial vehicle with static stability

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated guidance and control (IGC) design method for an unmanned aerial vehicle with static stability which is described by a nonlinear six- degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) model. The model is linearized by using small disturbance linearization. The dynamic characteristics of pitching mode, rolling mode and Dutch rolling mode are obtained by analysing the linearized model. Furthermore, an IGC design procedure is also proposed in conjunction with a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control method and fuzzy control method. A PID controller is applied in the control loop of the elevator and aileron, and the attitude angle and attitude angular velocity are used as compensation feedback, giving a simple and low-order control law. A fuzzy control method is applied to perform the cross-coupling control of rolling and yawing. Finally, the 6-DOF simulation shows the effectiveness of the developed method. doi:10.1017/S1446181113000199