Fusing ultra-wideband range measurements with accelerometers and rate gyroscopes for quadrocopter state estimation

Abstract

A state estimator for a quadrocopter is presented, using measurements from an accelerometer, angular rate gyroscope, and a set of ultra-wideband ranging radios. The estimator uses an extended aerodynamic model for the quadrocopter, where the full 3D airspeed is observable through accelerometer measurements. The remaining quadrocopter states, including the yaw orientation, are rendered observable by fusing ultra-wideband range measurements, under the assumption of no wind. The estimator is implemented on a standard microcontroller using readily-available, low-cost sensors. Performance is experimentally investigated in a variety of scenarios, where the quadrocopter is flown under feedback control using the estimator output.