Control and stabilization of quadcopters subjected to propeller failures

Abstract

This work develops an auxiliary control system based on sliding mode control in order to stabilize quadcopters in the event of propeller failures, a significant challenge in the operation of unmanned aircraft. The proposed approach includes the implementation of modern control techniques, extensively tested in both a nonlinear simulator and a testing platform, allowing the reproduction of scenarios with up to 30% power loss in one of the motors. The combination of detailed simulations and practical experiments demonstrates the efficiency of sliding mode control, which is able to mitigate the effects of failures by reducing deviations in the 𝜙 and 𝜃 angles by more than 80% at the initial moments and maintaining partial stability of the angle 𝜓. In addition to surpassing other approaches in terms of efficiency, the proposed method preserves the aircraft’s autonomy, offering a robust and practical solution for application in real operational environments, ensuring greater safety and reliability in quadcopter control.