Design and Implementation of a Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) for 3DoF Quadcopter

Quadcopters (a type of UAV) are now used widely in many domains, yet their strongly nonlinear dynamics demand advanced control to maintain stable flight. This project develops and implements a Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) system for 3-DoF quadcopter to achieve efficient stabilization and motion control. MRAC is chosen for its ability to adapt online to disturbances and uncertainties, delivering robust performance without requiring a detailed plant model. In this study, the framework is applied to the attitude dynamics of a quadcopter (roll, pitch, and yaw), with a reference model specifying the desired response, and the plant tracks the reference model effectively. Simulation results demonstrate accurate and stable tracking of the rotational axes with minimal overshoot and no steady-state error. Overall, the results indicate that MRAC is a practical and effective approach for stabilizing quadcopters in the presence of time-varying uncertainties.