Modelling and attitude control of novel multi-ducted-fan aerial vehicle in forward flight

Multi-ducted-fan aerial vehicle (MDFAV) is a novel platform for future transportation with promising prospects, which presents brand new challenges to the modelling and control approaches. In this paper, a comprehensive flight dynamical model of MDFAV is established utilising the aerodynamics principles and classical rigid body dynamics theory aiming to balance the complexity and covering necessary important dynamical behaviour of MDFAV, which is converted into state space by linearisation at the specific speed in forward flight mode in the following step. Subsequently a dual closed loop PID controller is put forward to keep flight fast and stable with the key coefficients tuned by non-smooth parameters optimisation method. The software and hardware of flight controller are designed for flight test of MDFAV systematically. Experiment results demonstrate excellent tracking performance and robustness, and at the same time, environment disturbances are suppressed effectively.