Finite-Time Convergent Robust Trajectory Tracking for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

This paper addresses the problem of three-dimensional finite-time trajectory tracking of unmanned aerial vehicles, specifically quadrotors. A nonlinear robust finite-time controller is designed based on the concept of nonsingular terminal sliding mode control, and stability of the proposed controller is guaranteed using Lyapunov stability theory. The quadrotor dynamics are obtained using the Newton-Euler method by considering the gyroscopic moments. The complete six degrees of freedom dynamics are also considered while designing control inputs, resulting in high tracking precision. The robustness of the proposed controller is validated using the quadrotor’s dynamic model in the presence of external disturbances and large initial errors in quadrotor states, and shown to yield satisfactory performance.