Genetic Algorithm-Based Tuning of Backstepping Controller for a Quadrotor-Type Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Backstepping is a control technique based on Lyapunov's theory that has been successfully implemented in the control of motors and robots by several nonlinear methods. However, there are no standardized methods for tuning control gains (unlike the PIDs). This paper shows the tuning gains of the backstepping controller, using Genetic Algorithms (GA), for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), quadrotor type, designed for autonomous trajectory tracking. First, a dynamic model of the vehicle is obtained through the Newton-Euler methodology. Then, the control law is obtained, and self-tuning is performed, through which we can obtain suitable values of the gains in order to achieve the design requirements. In this work, the establishment time and maximum impulse are considered as such. The tuning and simulations of the system response were performed using the MATLAB-Simulink environment, obtaining as a result the compliance of the design parameters and the correct tracking of different trajectories. The results show that self-tuning by means of genetic algorithms satisfactorily adjusts for the gains of a backstepping controller applied to a quadrotor and allows for the implementation of a control system that responds appropriately to errors of different magnitude.