Path following control for miniature fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles under uncertainties and disturbances: a two-layered framework

This study presents a solution to the path following control problem for miniature fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (MAVs) in the presence of inaccuracy modeling parameters and environmental disturbances. We introduce a two-layered framework to combine the guidance level with the control level. A modified vector field-based path following methodology is proposed in the kinematics phase to track a Dubins path with a straight line and circular segments. Subsequently, a proportional integral derivative (PID) controller based on feedback linearization and gain scheduling techniques are designed such that the MAV can reject nonlinear dynamics, system uncertainties, and disturbances using a robust fuzzy control scheme. Eventually, using a comparison test with control effort and track error as assessment metrics, the practicality of the framework and the outperformance of the proposed algorithm are well demonstrated.