Autopilot for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have numerous applications in civilian sectors. These include terrain monitoring for agriculture, assessment of damage caused by natural or manmade hazards, archaeological discovery, and exploration of remote and inaccessible areas. In all these applications, stable, controllable flight of the vehicle is essential. The UAV must be able to follow a commanded trajectory and maintain its attitude so as to ensure high-quality sensor data. The small size and low weight of the craft make it susceptible even to low-level wind disturbances, plus small UAVs exhibit significant nonlinearities in their dynamics—presenting challenges for flight control and autopilot design.