A Hybrid Algorithm for Fault Diagnosis in Nonlinear UAV Systems Using Conditional LSTM Autoencoders

This paper presents a hybrid algorithmic framework for fault detection and isolation (FDI) in nonlinear quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems operating under closed-loop conditions. The proposed method integrates a Linear Quadratic Control (LQC) strategy, synthesized through Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs), with a Conditional Long Short-Term Memory Autoencoder (CLSTM-AE) and an adaptive residual-based decision mechanism. The LQC scheme provides robust trajectory tracking through regional pole-placement constraints, while the CLSTM-AE learns the nominal closed-loop input–output temporal behavior of the UAV using only fault-free data. In contrast to conventional symmetric autoencoder-based detectors, the proposed CLSTM-AE uses the control inputs together with the available attitude estimates, represented by the Euler angles yaw, pitch, and roll, as conditioning information, while reconstructing only the monitored attitude outputs. This asymmetric structure allows the residuals to capture inconsistencies between the commanded control effort and the observed attitude response, which is particularly relevant in closed-loop nonlinear systems where feedback compensation may attenuate fault signatures. Deviations from nominal behavior are detected through reconstruction residuals computed using a smoothed Mean Squared Error (MSE) criterion and evaluated against an adaptive 3σ threshold. The framework is validated in three-dimensional flight simulations considering abrupt, transient, and incipient actuator fault scenarios. The obtained results show that the proposed approach outperforms representative conventional machine-learning methods, achieving an average accuracy of 98.2%, an average recall of 97.8%, and an average false positive rate of 1.4%. These results suggest that the proposed hybrid algorithm provides an effective and interpretable solution for closed-loop fault diagnosis in nonlinear UAV systems under measurement noise and system variability.