Actuator fault detection and isolation system for an hexacopter

The problem of detection and isolation of actuator faults in hexacopter vehicles is address in this article. The aim is to detect and isolate possible faults which can occur on the vehicle actuation system (i.e. rotors and propellers). The dynamic nonlinear model of an hexarotor vehicle is first derived to build a model-based diagnosis system. Then a Thau observer is developed to estimate the states of the hexarotor and, on the usage of this information, to generate the needed set of residuals. The developed fault detection and isolation system is finally tested in a high fidelity hexacopter simulator in which different fault situations are considered.