Robust FOSMC of a Quadrotor in the Presence of Parameter Uncertainty

This study addresses the problem of attitude and altitude tracking for a quadrotor system in the presence of parameter uncertainties. The goal is to develop a robust control strategy that can handle the nonlinear, strongly coupled dynamics of the quadrotor. To achieve this, we propose a fractional-order sliding mode control (FOSMC) scheme, which is specifically designed to improve system performance under uncertain parameters. The FOSMC approach is combined with additional adaptive laws to further enhance the robustness of the control system. We derive the necessary control laws and apply them to the quadrotor’s state-space representation, ensuring that the system remains stable and performs accurately in the presence of uncertainties. Numerical simulations are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. The results show that the FOSMC-based controller successfully achieves precise tracking of both attitude and altitude, demonstrating significant robustness against parameter variations and disturbances. In conclusion, the proposed FOSMC scheme provides a reliable solution for controlling quadrotor systems in uncertain environments, offering the potential for real-world applications in autonomous UAV operations.