Multirotors From Takeoff to Real-Time Full Identification Using the Modified Relay Feedback Test and Deep Neural Networks

Low-cost real-time identification of multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) dynamics is an active area of research supported by the surge in demand and emerging application domains. Such real-time identification capabilities shorten development time and cost, making UAVs’ technology more accessible, and enable a wide variety of advanced applications. In this article, we present a novel comprehensive approach, called DNN-MRFT, for real-time identification and tuning of multirotor UAVs using the modified relay feedback test (MRFT) and deep neural networks (DNNs). The main contribution is the development of a generalized framework for the application of DNN-MRFT to higher order systems. One of the notable advantages of DNN-MRFT is the exact estimation of identified process gain, which mitigates the inaccuracies introduced due to the use of the describing function method in approximating the response of Lure’s systems. A secondary contribution is a generalized controller based on DNN-MRFT that takes off a UAV with unknown dynamics and identifies the inner loops dynamics in-flight. Using the developed framework, DNN-MRFT is sequentially applied to the outer translational loops of the UAV utilizing in-flight results obtained for the inner attitude loops. DNN-MRFT takes on average 15 s to get the full knowledge of multirotor UAV dynamics, and without any further tuning or calibration, the UAV would be able to pass through a vertical window and accurately follow trajectories achieving state-of-the-art performance. Such demonstrated accuracy, speed, and robustness of identification pushes the limits of state of the art in real-time identification of UAVs.