A Comprehensive Survey of Control Strategies for Autonomous Quadrotors

• Published in: Canadian journal of electrical and computer engineering Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 3 - 16
• Main Authors: Kim, Jinho, Gadsden, S. Andrew, Wilkerson, Stephen A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Montreal IEEE Canada 01.01.2020; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Aircraft; Aircraft propulsion; Algorithms; Autonomous; control; Control algorithms; Control methods; Control systems; Helicopters; Military aircraft; quadrotor; Rotary wing aircraft; Rotors; Studies; Target acquisition; Tourism; unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); Unmanned aerial vehicles; Unmanned aircraft; unmanned aircraft system (UAS)
• ISSN: 0840-8688
• DOI: 10.1109/CJECE.2019.2920938

Over the past several decades, there has been a constant increase in the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). Hence, there has also been a growth in the number of control algorithms to service many applications embodied by these vehicles. Initially, UASs were made popular by the military for reconnaissance, intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition (RISTA) applications. Nowadays, UASs are used for everything from crop surveys to tourism. Nowhere is this more evident than with a multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). This paper presents a survey of control methods for multi-rotor systems, namely quadrotors. In doing so, we hope to visualize a clear path to what additional capabilities might be needed in the future. In our examination, we review many of the notable research organizations and their efforts to expand the utility of multi-rotor aircraft. We also summarize the basic literature definitions and control strategies for autonomous quadrotors.