This paper presents an optimized robust trajectory control system for an autonomous tiltrotor bi-copter based on an incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion (INDI) strategy combined with a set of PID/PD controllers. The methodology includes a lower level, fast attitude control action using an incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion (INDI) strategy, which is driven by a higher level, slow trajectory control action that uses nonlinear dynamic inversion (NDI). The nonlinear dynamic model of the drone is derived, and the basis of the motion and the design of the attitude and position stabilizing controllers are discussed. To develop and test the suggested controller, a circle-shaped flight profile is simulated. The linear control providing inputs to the NDI and INDI controllers is tuned via a novel multi-objective optimization auto-tuning method using the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II). The tracking and disturbance rejection optimization is achieved via the use of the integral of time multiplied by the absolute error (ITAE) and the integral of the square of the error (ISE) objective functions, which are optimized concurrently. The simulation results reveal that the proposed control design outperforms the traditional dynamic inversion controller design and demonstrate that the developed INDI + PID/PD controller possesses exceptional accuracy and performance, enabling the tiltrotor bi-copter to track the given trajectory. Furthermore, the paper shows that the proposed controller produces 40% lower overshoot and settling time as measured with respect to previous backstepping controllers reported in the literature. The robustness of the controller is validated through diverse tests where the aircraft is subjected to external (wind gust) disturbances.

A cascade control architecture was proposed for the control of advanced unmanned aerial vehicles targeted for operation inside confined hazardous spaces. The aircraft of interest is a highly maneuverable system presenting highly coupled dynamics, enabling it to perform unique flight maneuvers that no other aircraft can. To deal with the complexities inherent to such an aircraft, a novel nonlinear control architecture was proposed. Two outer loop NDI controllers and an inner loop INDI controller were employed for position/velocity and attitude/rotation rate control, respectively. These controllers assist each other, enabling them to decouple the aircraft dynamics while coping with complex external disturbances. The obtained results demonstrate an effective control of the targeted aircraft system to accurately track complex flight maneuvers.