Modeling of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Smart Agriculture Systems Using Hybrid Fuzzy PID Controllers

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles have a wide range of uses in the military field, non-combat situations, and civil works. Due to their ease of operation, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are highly sought after by farmers and are considered the best agricultural technologies, since different types of controller algorithms are being integrated into drone systems, making drones the most affordable option for smart agriculture sectors. PID controllers are among the controllers frequently incorporated into drone systems. Although PID controllers are frequently used in drones, they have some limitations, such as sensitivity to noise and measurement errors, which can lead to instability or oscillations in the system. On the other hand, PID controllers provide improved accuracy in drone system responses. When using PID controllers to achieve the best performance in a drone system, it is better to share the advantages of PID controllers with other intelligence controllers. One promising option is the fuzzy PID controller. The aim of this study was to control quadcopter states (rolling, altitude, and airspeed) by leveraging quadcopter technology and adding hybrid fuzzy PID controls into the system. The quadcopter system and its controllers were mathematically modeled using the Simulink/MATLAB platform, and the system was controlled by fuzzy PID controllers. For validation purposes, the fuzzy PID controller was compared with a classically tuned PID controller. For roll, height, and airspeed, the fuzzy PID controller provided an improvement of 41.5%, 11%, and 44%, respectively, over the classically tuned PID controller. Therefore, the fuzzy PID controller best suits the needs of farmers and is compatible with smart agriculture systems.