Quadcopter Aggressive Maneuvers along Singular Configurations: An Energy-Quaternion Based Approach

Automatic aggressive maneuvers with quadcopters are regarded as a highly challenging control problem. the aim is to tackle the singularities that exist in a vertical looping maneuver. modeling singularities are resolved by writing the equations-of-motion of the quadcopter in quaternion form. physical singularities due to underactuation are resolved by using an energy-based control. energy-based control is utilized to overcome the uncontrollability of the quadcopter at physical singular configurations,for instance,when commanding the quadcopter to gain altitude while pitched at 90°. three looping strategies (circular,clothoidal,and newly developed constant thrust) are implemented on a nonlinear model of the quadcopter. the three looping strategies are discussed along with their advantages and limitations. © 2016 ayman a. el-badawy and mohamed a. bakr.