An improved trajectory tracking control of quadcopter using a novel Sliding Mode Control with Fuzzy PID Surface

This paper presents Super Twisting Sliding Mode Control with a novel Fuzzy PID Surface for improved trajectory tracking of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles under external disturbances. First, quadrotor dynamic model with six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) is developed using Newton-Euler Method. Then, a robust Sliding Mode Control based on a new Fuzzy PID Surface is designed to be capable of automatically adjusting its gain parameters. The proposed SMC controller applies super twisting algorithm with PID surface to reduce chattering and a fuzzy logic controller to automatically adjust the gain parameters in order to enhance robustness. Furthermore, the solution to stability has been given by the Lyapunov method. The controller’s performance is tested through various trajectories, parameter variations, and disturbance scenarios, comparing it with recent alternatives such as Sliding Mode Control, Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control, and Fuzzy Super Twisting Sliding Mode Control using numerical simulations. The simulation results show that the proposed controller has better tracking performance, parameter variation handling, and disturbance rejection capability compared with the aforementioned controllers. Additionally, the control efforts of the proposed method are minimal and smooth, proving it to be an economically feasible controller and operationally safe for the quadrotor.