Time-delay extended state estimation and control of a quadrotor helicopter

The sensory system of an indoor quadrotor helicopter usually includes several types of sensors. This paper focuses on the case, where the helicopter has onboard inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a vision system on the ground. The vision system uses low-cost webcameras, therefore the image acquisition time implies a delay in the measurement, which should be handled during the state estimation. The dynamic model of the helicopter is also introduced. Based on this model, a non-linear control algorithm is used on the helicopter. Because of the unmodelled components of the system, additional trimmer parameters are added to the control. The results of real maneuvers show the effectiveness of the solution.