Comparison of Two Control Strategies for a Quarter Drone System

The paper aims to present a comparison of the two different control strategies, PD and LQR, using the virtual prototype of an experimental platform called quarter drone by the authors. The model analyzed is composed of the arm of a drone that is free to rotate only around one of its axes. To maintain the prototype in a stable configuration, two types of controllers are compared for the present model, namely PD and LQR controllers. Subsequently, the better performing control system is used for trajectory tracking. The realization of the virtual prototype is performed through the use of SOLIDWORKS software, while the dynamic analysis of the system and the development of the control law are carried out in the SIMULINK environment, using the SIMSCAPE MULTIBODY toolbox. Finally, by using a simple theoretical model, the thrust is modeled, and the number of revolutions is calculated to verify the accuracy of the obtained results.