This paper explores the full control of a quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) by exploiting the nature-inspired algorithms of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Cuckoo Search (CS), and the cooperative Particle Swarm Optimization-Cuckoo Search (PSO-CS). The proposed PSO-CS algorithm combines the ability of social thinking in PSO with the local search capability in CS, which helps to overcome the problem of low convergence speed of CS. First, the quadrotor dynamic modeling is defined using Newton-Euler formalism. Second, PID (Proportional, Integral, and Derivative) controllers are optimized by using the intelligent proposed approaches and the classical method of Reference Model (RM) for quadrotor full control. Finally, simulation results prove that PSO and PSO-CS are more efficient in tuning of optimal parameters for the quadrotor control. Indeed, the ability of PSO and PSO-CS to track the imposed trajectories is well seen from 3D path tracking simulations and even in presence of wind disturbances.

This paper introduces a nonlinear adaptive controller of unknown nonlinear dynamical systems based on the approximate models using a multi-layer perceptron neural network. The proposal of this study is to employ the structure of the Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) model into the NARMA-L2 structure in order to construct a hybrid neural structure that can be used as an identifier model and a nonlinear controller for the MIMO nonlinear systems. The big advantage of the proposed control system is that it doesn’t require previous knowledge of the model. Our ultimate goal is to determine the control input using only the values of the input and output. The developed NARMA-L2 neural network model is tuned for its weights employing the backpropagation optimizer algorithm. Nonlinear autoregressive-moving average-L2 (NARMA-L2) neural network controller, based on the inputs and outputs from the nonlinear model, is designed to perform control action on the nonlinear for the attitude control of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) model. Once the system has been modeled efficiently and accurately, the proposed controller is designed by rearranging the generalized submodels. The controller performance is evaluated by simulation conducted on a quadcopter MIMO system, which is characterized by a nonlinear and dynamic behavior. The obtained results show that the NARMA-L2-based neural network achieved good performances in modeling and control.

This paper presents the dynamic modelling and control technique for a tilt-rotor aerial vehicle operating in bi-rotor mode. This kind of aircraft combines two flight envelopes, making it ideal for scenarios that require hovering, vertical take-off/landing and fixed-wing capabilities. In this work, a detailed mathematical model is derived using Newton–Euler formalism. Based on the obtained model, a new control scheme that incorporates six Proportional-Derivative (PD) controllers is proposed for the attitudes (roll (φ), pitch (θ), yaw (ψ)) and the positions (x, y, z) of the aircraft. Then, intelligent Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and conventional Reference Model (RM) techniques are applied for optimal tuning of the controllers' parameters. The stability analysis is developed using the Lyapunov approach and its application to the tilt-rotor system in the case of intelligent and conventional PD controllers. Numerical results of two scenarios prove the efficiency of the controllers tuned using the PSO method. Indeed, its ability to track the desired trajectories is demonstrated through 3D path tracking simulations, even in the presence of wind disturbances. Finally, experimental tests of stabilization and trajectory tracking are carried out on our prototype. These testing showed that our tilt-rotor was stable and suitably follows the imposed trajectories.

Swarm intelligence algorithms have been in recent years one of the most used tools for planning the trajectory of a mobile robot. Researchers are applying those algorithms to find the optimal path, which reduces the time required to perform a task by the mobile robot. In this paper, we propose a new method based on the grey wolf optimizer algorithm (GWO) and the improved elephant herding optimization algorithm (IEHO) for planning the optimal trajectory of a mobile robot. The proposed solution consists of developing an IEHO algorithm by improving the basic EHO algorithm and then hybridizing it with the GWO algorithm to take advantage of the exploration and exploitation capabilities of both algorithms. The comparison of the IEHO-GWO hybrid proposed in this work with the GWO, EHO, and cuckoo-search (CS) algorithms via simulation shows its effectiveness in finding an optimal trajectory by avoiding obstacles around the mobile robot.

This paper explores the model parameters estimation of a quadrotor UAV by exploiting the cooperative particle swarm optimization-cuckoo search (PSO-CS). The PSO-CS regulates the convergence velocity benefiting from the capabilities of social thinking and local search in PSO and CS. To evaluate the efficiency of the proposed methods, it is regarded as important to apply these approaches for identifying the autonomous complex and nonlinear dynamics of the quadrotor. After defining the quadrotor dynamic modelling using Newton–Euler formalism, the quadrotor model’s parameters are extracted by using intelligent PSO, CS, PSO-CS, and the statistical least squares (LS) methods. Finally, simulation results prove that PSO and PSO-CS are more efficient in optimal tuning of parameters values for the quadrotor identification.