A Singularity-Free Model Reference Adaptive Attitude and Position Controller for Quadrotor UAV
11th International Conference on Recent Advances in Air and Space Technologies, Conference Program, RAST 2026, İstanbul, Turkey, 13 - 15 May 2026, (Full Text)
- Publication Type: Conference Paper / Full Text
- Doi Number: 10.1109/rast69551.2026.11672373
- City: İstanbul
- Country: Turkey
- Keywords: attitude and position tracking, model reference adaptive control, quadrotor UAV, singularity-free control
- Yıldız Technical University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are nonlinear and underactuated systems that are significantly affected by changing payload and parameter uncertainties. This technical note presents a singularity-free model reference adaptive control (MRAC) for the coupled attitude and position tracking of a quadrotor UAV. To address the problem of control signal singularities, which frequently occur in classical adaptive control laws, the proposed MRAC architecture introduces a specifically designed Lyapunov function and constant scaling parameters that ensure singularity-free formulation in the controller signal. The control scheme utilizes some adaptation mechanism for the translational motions and yaw rotation, driving the system to follow a desired second-order reference model. Simultaneously, the roll and pitch dynamics are stabilized using an inner-loop PD controller. The adaptive laws guarantee the asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system. The performance of the designed controller is validated through numerical simulations under different damping ratios, specifically evaluating underdamped and overdamped second-order references. The simulation outcomes verify that the proposed adaptive controller ensures robustness to parametric uncertainties, precise and singularity-free trajectory tracking, and robustness to parametric uncertainties, while effectively compensating for system uncertainties.