Command-filtered sensor-based backstepping controller for small unmanned aerial vehicles with actuator dynamics.

In this study, a command-filtered sensor-based backstepping controller is proposed for small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with actuator dynamics. The command filter is introduced to prompt the virtual control law to be limited in a certain range and the corresponding state to subsequently be restricted to a certain area. When using the sensor-based backstepping recursive method, precise models of the UAVs are not required because the controller is not sensitive to the external disturbance. The actuator dynamics are compensated without prior knowledge of the mathematical model of the executing agency. Besides, a robust compensator is developed for the virtual control law of the first subsystem of the UAV, which shows strong robustness against the uncertainties of the aerodynamic coefficients and external disturbances. Moreover, the closed-loop system is proven stable in the sense that the signals are bounded. A numerical simulation is carried out to verify the effectiveness of the developed controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]