Cascade PID Control for Altitude and Angular Position Stabilization of 6-DOF UAV Quadcopter

UAVs are commonly used in transportation, especially in the express delivery of light cargo parcels. However, controlling UAVs is difficult because of their complex structure and wide range of operations in space. The research contribution is proposed a cascade control structure using six PID controllers for the 6-DOF UAV quadcopter, that ensures the altitude angulars positions control at the desired values and maintains flight balance stability for the 6-DOF UAV quadcopter. First, the mathematical dynamic models for the 6-DOF UAV quadcopter have been researched and developed, including the translational dynamic mathematical model and the rotational dynamic mathematical model of the 6-DOF UAV quadcopter. This is a complex object with strong nonlinearity and difficult control. And then, the article introduces the method of designing six PID controllers for 6-DOF UAV quadcopter to meet the requirements, based on applying the Ziegler-Nichols experimental method. Applying the Ziegler-Nichols experimental method makes the process of designing a UAV quadcopter control system simple, straightforward and heuristics with fast controller parameters tuning. Next, the article presents the results of modeling and simulation of the 6-DOF UAV quadcopter control system on Matlab/Simulink. The simulation results show that the six proposed PID controllers have ensured the flight balance stability at the desired altitude and angular positions with overshoot less than 20%, steady-state error less than 1%. This shows the prospect of applying the proposed PID control method to physical UAVs, easily adjusting PID parameters to suit the flight environment.