A modular virtual laboratory for quadrotor control simulation

The development of a Virtual Laboratory for control systems simulation is presented in this paper. A mechanistic quadrotor model was created using existing theory and a feedback controller was applied for altitude and coordinate control. The simulation environment was built on a transparent modelling platform that allowed the users to easily modify the controller parameters. The human-machine interface employed both two and three dimensional graphic displays enabling real-time monitoring of the quadrotor’s trajectory. The Virtual Laboratory was modulated for usage by multiple student groups. Two example experiments are presented in order to demonstrate the type of control simulations that may be carried out in this Virtual Laboratory. The results from these experiments indicate that this Virtual Laboratory may be easily integrated into control and simulation courses and projects for undergraduate engineering students.