Development Omnidirectional Motion of Quadcopter Using Direction-Specific PID Control with Discrete Keyboard Input

Abstract

This study aims to enhance the motion stability of a quadcopter controlled via discrete keyboard input using a direction-specific PID control approach. The primary issue with keyboard-based manual control is the generation of step-like reference commands, which often trigger excessive oscillations when uniform PID parameters are applied across all motion axes. The research methodology involves designing independent PID controllers tailored to the specific dynamic characteristics of the vertical, longitudinal, and lateral axes. Real-time low-altitude flight tests were conducted to compare the performance of the proposed Direction-Specific PID against a conventional Uniform PID configuration. Experimental results demonstrate that the Direction-Specific PID significantly improves flight stability. Key findings include a drastic reduction in overshoot across all axes: roll decreased from 18.4% to 6.2%, pitch from 16.9% to 5.8%, and yaw from 22.1% to 4.1%. Additionally, settling time improved significantly, for instance, from 3.20 seconds to 1.85 seconds on the roll axis. Although a slight increase in rise time was observed, the overall system response became more damped and smoother. PWM distribution and motor RPM data also showed faster convergence to steady-state values, validating that axis-specific PID parameter tuning is effective in handling abrupt reference changes in discrete-input UAV control.