Flatness-based nonlinear control strategies for trajectory tracking of quadcopter systems

This paper proposes several nonlinear control strategies for trajectory trackingof a quadcopter system based on the property of differential flatness. Its origi-nality is twofold. Firstly, it provides a flat output for the quadcopter dynamicscapable of creating full flat parametrization of the states and inputs. Moreover,B-splines characterizations of the flat output and their properties allow for op-timal trajectory generation subject to way-point constraints. Secondly, severalcontrol strategies based on computed torque control and feedback linearizationare presented and compared. The advantages of flatness within each controlstrategy are analyzed and detailed through extensive simulation results.