I just got the most recent issue of IEEE Robotics and Automation magazine, which has a theme of quadcopters as robotics research platforms. There is a large article describing the various attitude estimation and control algorithms used in Arducopter, OpenPilot, Paparazzi, Pikhawk, Mirokopter, KK muticopter, Multiwii, and Aeroquad. If you want to know what the difference between what we are doing vs one of the others, this looks like a great resource.
There is also a great article by Robert Mahoney (of DCM fame), Vijay Kumar (from U Penn), and Peter Corke (Queensland U) titled "Modeling, Estimation and Control of Quadrotor". If you want to review first principles and the math basis for quad rotor control, this will interest you.
Several other interesting articles including one on the interface between autonomous and human control, and another on optical 6Dof Pose estimation.
http://online.qmags.com/RAM0912?pg=21&mode=2#pg3&mode2
It's free and the open source flight controller comparison article starts on page 34. Sample below:
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hi Hyon,
welcome to diydrones :) btw we would have given you more brownie points for a better review ;)
Cool
very cool link
IEEE Control Systems Magazine October 2012 is devoted to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as well - autopilots for ultra lightweight robotic birds, cooperative control of multiple autonomous vehicles, autonomous control of unmanned combat air vehicles. I don't have a way to share it by link, though.
Thanks for the heads up on this. If you recall Vijay Kumar & Daniel Mellinger presented incredible research on aggressive quads & Quads playing 007 theme, both of which were based on optical guidance algorithms (from remote observation video processing). Robert Mahoney and Peter Corke have been publish articles on flight dynamics for Quads & has also done ground breaking research on quad design optimization, non-linear control, etc. since before 2004.