A novel guidance algorithm and comparison of nonlinear control strategies applied to an indoor quadrotor

In this paper we propose a cascaded approach for the full control of a quadrotor operating in indoor spaces. Sliding mode controller with a saturation function is applied to achieve robust attitude tracking performance without control chattering. A novel guidance algorithm and a feedback-linearization based position controller is proposed, which ensures that the MAV follows the shortest path between the waypoints. Also, we discuss the on-board implementation of state-estimation and 3D localization techniques for an MAV. The robustness and effectiveness of the proposed control law are validated through simulations and experiments under external disturbances. Further, the test-bench results are compared with those obtained from PI-PID and backstepping control.