Quadrotor Actuator Fault Diagnosis and Accommodation Using Nonlinear Adaptive Estimators

This brief presents the systematic design and real-time experimental results of a fault detection, isolation, and accommodation algorithm for quadrotor actuator faults using nonlinear adaptive estimation techniques. The fault diagnosis architecture consists of a nonlinear fault detection estimator and a bank of nonlinear adaptive fault isolation estimators designed based on the functional structures of the faults under consideration. Adaptive thresholds for fault detection and isolation are systematically designed to enhance the robustness and fault sensitivity of the diagnostic algorithm. After fault isolation, the fault parameter estimate generated by the matched isolation estimator is used for accommodating the fault effect. Using an indoor quadrotor test environment, real-time experimental results are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithms.