Examination Committee

Prof Shaojie SHEN, ECE/HKUST (Chairperson)
Prof Zexiang LI, ECE/HKUST (Thesis Supervisor)
Prof Lu FANG, ECE/HKUST 

Abstract

In recent years, the small-size commercial drones have become one of the catchiest stars on the stage of science and technology. They consist of multiple rotors and can move neatly in omni-direction. Although the basic flight control technology of these drones is mature, the rise of drones brings a series of new problems. People wish the drones to save as much energy as possible and decrease the vibration as much as possible while moving alone the self-optimized path according to the preset air route smoothly. All these requirements are based on the trajectory generation and control technology.
 
This thesis work focuses on the study of a quadrotor. The modelling of dynamic system and the evaluation of trajectory generation algorithm are carried out, and a simulator and a real platform are developed to test the results.
 
The Newton-Euler equations are used to model the dynamics system. The trajectory generation algorithm and PID control method are compared. To easily evaluate the performance with a mathematical approach, the first stage tests are performed on a simulated model. The second stage tests are then conducted on the quadrotor platform to evaluate the behavior of the real system. A customized optimal algorithm is generated and proven to be efficient.