Actuator fault detection system for a mini-quadrotor

This paper addresses the problem of actuator fault detection for a mini-quadrotor. First a model for a four-rotor vehicle, obtained via a Lagrange approach, is presented. In order to stabilize the quadrotor at low cruise speed, a control strategy based on nested saturation controllers is presented. Using a Thau´s observer, a diagnostic system has been developed for the nonlinear model of the quadrotor. Different simulation trials have been performed and the analysis of the results proves that the developed diagnostic system represents an effective solution to the problem of actuator fault detection in mini-flying machines.