Adaptive trajectory tracking controller design for a quadrotor UAV with payload variation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to enhance the quadrotor’s capability of short-distance delivery to satisfy the large demand for quadrotor, which is used for goods distribution in huge warehouses, under time-varying payload and external wind disturbance. Design/methodology/approach A trajectory tracking controller design based on the combination of an adaptive sliding mode control (ASMC) method and the active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) technique is proposed. Besides, an inner–outer loop control system structure is adopted. Findings Simulation results of different trajectory tracking verify the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed tracking control method under various conditions, including parameter uncertainty and external wind disturbance. The proposed control strategy ensures that quadrotor UAV is capable of tracking linear and spiral trajectory well whether it loads or unloads goods in the presence of the external wind disturbance. Originality/value The proposed method of designing a trajectory tracking controller is based on an integral ADRC and ASMC scheme so as to deal with the trajectory tracking problem for a quadrotor with payload variation.