EPRL Sliding Mode Flight Controller with Model-based Switching Manifold of a Quad-Rotor UAV

In this paper, the problems of chattering in sliding mode and high-accuracy flight tracking are tackled. Indeed, a nonlinear controller for the position, altitude, and attitude tracking has been developed for a quad-rotor system. The developed method in this manuscript is the exponential power reaching law sliding mode with mode-based switching manifold. This proposed method simplifies the computed control inputs while decoupling the chattering effect between Euler angles. This latter, in addition to the used reaching law, reduces the chattering phenomenon. Moreover, this method is effective since it ensures, as conventional sliding mode, high precision tracking. Based on Lyapunov theory, the stability analysis of the closed-loop system is presented. Finally, numerical simulations and comparative studies with the sliding mode with model-based switching manifold are performed on a quad-rotor model to prove the claimed features.