Quadrotor Fundamentals

Quadrotor math derivation

Around 2013, the following set of tools was proposed:

• Representing the system’s state in a coordinate-free way
• Defining an almost globally valid geometric controller
• Leveraging differential flatness to formulate trajectory planning as an optimization problem

This paradigm proved effective for enabling quadrotors to plan and stably execute acrobatic maneuvers and shown applicable to quadrotors with various manipulators and as cooperative systems.

My PhD qualifier report rehashes the works above with a more complete exposition of deriving coordinate-free dynamics, differential flatness relationships, and geometric controller stability proofs.

Aerial Robotics Coursera course

Our 4-week course on Aerial Robotics is available on Coursera starting Oct. 2015. Adapted from the first half of the Advanced Robotics class (MEAM 620) at Penn, it covers dynamic modeling, feedback control, and search and optimization-based planning methods that both enable autonomous quadrotor flight and are general fundamental techniques. Also check out other courses in the 5-part Robotics specialization!