Contact-based navigation for an autonomous flying robot

Briod, Adrien; Kornatowski, Przemyslaw; Klaptocz, Adam; Garnier, Arnaud; Pagnamenta, Marco; Zufferey, Jean-Christophe; Floreano, Dario

doi:10.1109/iros.2013.6696926

Cited by 41 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Methods to detect the collision angle based on the inertial sensors and collision model or additional force sensors will be investigated, enabling more advanced behaviors using collision information for navigation as suggested by Briod et al. (). We will also study locomotion strategies involving constant contact with the environment, such as rolling on the ground or against obstacles as suggested by Kalantari and Spenko ().…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Collision‐resilient Flying Robot

Briod

Kornatowski

Zufferey³

et al. 2013

Journal of Field Robotics

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162

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Flying robots that can locomote efficiently in GPS-denied cluttered environments have many applications, such as in search and rescue scenarios. However, dealing with the high amount of obstacles inherent to such environments is a major challenge for flying vehicles. Conventional flying platforms cannot afford to collide with obstacles, as the disturbance from the impact may provoke a crash to the ground, especially when friction forces generate torques affecting the attitude of the platform. We propose a concept of resilient flying robots capable of colliding into obstacles without compromising their flight stability. Such platforms present great advantages over existing robots as they are capable of robust flight in cluttered environments without the need for complex sense and avoid strategies or 3D mapping of the environment. We propose a design comprising an inner frame equipped with conventional propulsion and stabilization systems enclosed in a protective cage that can rotate passively thanks to a 3-axis gimbal system, which reduces the impact of friction forces on the attitude of the inner frame. After addressing important design considerations thanks to a collision model and validation experiments, we present a proof-of-concept platform, named GimBall, capable of flying in various cluttered environments. Field experiments demonstrate the robot's ability to fly fully autonomously through a forest while experiencing multiple collisions.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Collision‐resilient Flying Robot

Briod

Kornatowski

Zufferey³

et al. 2013

Journal of Field Robotics

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162

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“…If the external force is estimated, it is assumed that aerodynamic forces are non-existent or negligible during the interaction (Fumagalli and Carloni, 2013;Tomić and Haddadin, 2014;Yüksel et al, 2014). For handling collision scenarios, Briod et al (2013) have used an Euler spring and force sensor to determine the collision force and direction. Alternatively, Tomić and Haddadin (2015) presented two model-based methods to distinguish between aerodynamic and collision forces for collision detection and reaction.…”

Section: Topic Referencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simultaneous contact and aerodynamic force estimation (s-CAFE) for aerial robots

Tomić¹,

Lutz

Schmid³

et al. 2020

The International Journal of Robotics Research

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In this article, we consider the problem of multirotor flying robots physically interacting with the environment under influence of wind. The results are the first algorithms for simultaneous online estimation of contact and aerodynamic wrenches acting on the robot based on real-world data, without the need for dedicated sensors. For this purpose, we investigated two model-based techniques for discriminating between aerodynamic and interaction forces. The first technique is based on aerodynamic and contact torque models, and uses the external force to estimate wind speed. Contacts are then detected based on the residual between estimated external torque and expected (modeled) aerodynamic torque. Upon detecting contact, wind speed is assumed to change very slowly. From the estimated interaction wrench, we are also able to determine the contact location. This is embedded into a particle filter framework to further improve contact location estimation. The second algorithm uses the propeller aerodynamic power and angular speed as measured by the speed controllers to obtain an estimate of the airspeed. An aerodynamics model is then used to determine the aerodynamic wrench. Both methods rely on accurate aerodynamics models. Therefore, we evaluate data-driven and physics-based models as well as offline system identification for flying robots. For obtaining ground-truth data, we performed autonomous flights in a 3D wind tunnel. Using this data, aerodynamic model selection, parameter identification, and discrimination between aerodynamic and contact forces could be performed. Finally, the developed methods could serve as useful estimators for interaction control schemes with simultaneous compensation of wind disturbances.

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“…This makes the method trajectory and controller dependent. Briod et al [12] use onboard accelerometers and small force sensors attached to elastic springs to detect collisions with the environment. The acceleration-based approach detects collisions when the acceleration magnitude is above a threshold.…”

Section: B Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

A unified framework for external wrench estimation, interaction control and collision reflexes for flying robots

Tomić

Haddadin²

2014

2014 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems

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Flying in unknown environments can lead to unwanted collisions with the environment. If not being accounted for, these may cause serious damage to the robot and/or its environment. Fast and robust collision detection combined with safe reaction is therefore essential in this context. Deliberate physical interaction may also be required in some applications. The robot can then switch into an interaction mode when contact occurs. The control loop must also be designed with interaction in mind. To implement these mechanisms, knowledge of environmental interaction forces is required. In principle, they may be measured or estimated. In this paper, we present a novel model-based method for external wrench estimation in flying robots. The estimation is based on proprioceptive sensors and the robot's dynamics model only. Using this estimate, we also design admittance and impedance controllers for sensitive and robust physical interaction. We also investigate the performance of our collision detection and reaction schemes in order to guarantee collision safety. Upon collision, we determine the collision location and normal located on the robot's geometric model. The method relies on the complete wrench information provided by our scheme. This allows applications such as tactile environment mapping.

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Contact-based navigation for an autonomous flying robot

Cited by 41 publications

References 14 publications

A Collision‐resilient Flying Robot

A Collision‐resilient Flying Robot

Simultaneous contact and aerodynamic force estimation (s-CAFE) for aerial robots

A unified framework for external wrench estimation, interaction control and collision reflexes for flying robots

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