Development and field test of novel two-wheeled UAV for bridge inspections

Yamada, Moyuru; Nakao, Manabu; Hada, Yoshiro; Sawasaki, Naoyuki

doi:10.1109/icuas.2017.7991308

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…This solution opens the spectrum of applications that can be accomplished because the end effector of the manipulator can be designed for a specific use case, such as sensor installation [ 23 ], hammering tasks [ 24 ], deflection measurements [ 25 ], and others. The third approach is about using a morphing platform or a more complex robot with the capability of moving along the infrastructure, maintaining the contact with the surface [ 26 , 27 ]. Nevertheless, although the last two approaches seem to be more versatile, the required positioning accuracy of the robot and the requirements in the measurement collection process are, again, very difficult to reach while flying and sensor installation usually requires a controlled force while the glue is curing to grant the adhesion of the device to the surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fully-Actuated Aerial Manipulator for Infrastructure Contact Inspection: Design, Modeling, Localization, and Control

Sanchez-Cuevas

González-Morgado

Cortes

et al. 2020

Sensors

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This paper presents the design, modeling and control of a fully actuated aerial robot for infrastructure contact inspection as well as its localization system. Health assessment of transport infrastructure involves measurements with sensors in contact with the bridge and tunnel surfaces and the installation of monitoring sensing devices at specific points. The design of the aerial robot presented in the paper includes a 3DoF lightweight arm with a sensorized passive joint which can measure the contact force to regulate the force applied with the sensor on the structure. The aerial platform has been designed with tilted propellers to be fully actuated, achieving independent attitude and position control. It also mounts a “docking gear” to establish full contact with the infrastructure during the inspection, minimizing the measurement errors derived from the motion of the aerial platform and allowing full contact with the surface regardless of its condition (smooth, rough, ...). The localization system of the aerial robot uses multi-sensor fusion of the measurements of a topographic laser sensor on the ground and a tracking camera and inertial sensors on-board the aerial robot, to be able to fly under the bridge deck or close to the bridge pillars where GNSS satellite signals are not available. The paper also presents the modeling and control of the aerial robot. Validation experiments of the localization system and the control system, and with the aerial robot inspecting a real bridge are also included.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fully-Actuated Aerial Manipulator for Infrastructure Contact Inspection: Design, Modeling, Localization, and Control

Sanchez-Cuevas

González-Morgado

Cortes

et al. 2020

Sensors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There has been some considerable interest in hybrid ground/aerial vehicles in recent years. The most common approach seems to be the use of passive or actuated wheels attached to the frame of a drone or quadrotor in various configurations [6], [7]. Other designs include a quad-rotor hinged inside a rotating cage [8], modular or adaptive structures which change configuration for flight or ground mobility [9], [10], [11], and even legged drones [12], [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomous Hybrid Ground/Aerial Mobility in Unknown Environments

Fan

Thakker

Bartlett

et al. 2019

2019 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)

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Hybrid ground and aerial vehicles can possess distinct advantages over ground-only or flight-only designs in terms of energy savings and increased mobility. In this work we outline our unified framework for controls, planning, and autonomy of hybrid ground/air vehicles. Our contribution is threefold: 1) We develop a control scheme for the control of passive two-wheeled hybrid ground/aerial vehicles. 2) We present a unified planner for both rolling and flying by leveraging differential flatness mappings. 3) We conduct experiments leveraging mapping and global planning for hybrid mobility in unknown environments, showing that hybrid mobility uses up to five times less energy than flying only 1 .

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“…However, a common UAV without proper protection and a mechanism to maintain stability during unavoidable collisions with an obstacle cannot be used for the close visual inspection of bridges with a complex structure because of the high risk of falling. A novel two‐wheeled unmanned aerial vehicle with cylindrical cage (Yamada, Nakao, Hada, & Sawasaki, ) was also developed for bridge inspection; however, the mechanism has limited capabilities especially in dealing with unavoidable obstacles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Close visual bridge inspection using a UAV with a passive rotating spherical shell

Salaan

Okada

Mizutani

et al. 2018

Journal of Field Robotics

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Today, robots are expected to be used for the inspection of infrastructures such as bridges. One important task in bridge inspection is to acquire clear images of its various parts for further damage evaluation. However, this task has not yet been completely realized because of the complexity of bridge structures. For this situation, a UAV with a passive rotating spherical shell (PRSS) that can easily maneuver while protecting itself is introduced. In this paper, we explain the development of the PRSS unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based on the design strategy. We then analyze its performance through simulated bridge inspection. Finally, we discuss the results of actual bridge experiments. The spherical shell has a size (D = 0.95 m) and structure (fullerene) that is well-suited for bridge inspection applications. It can also handle an impact equivalent to 2 m/s, which is more than the UAV's maximum flight speed. Test flight experiment also validated the characteristic of PRSS that shows a stable flight during disturbances. The image test also shows that the visual system can provide a full overhead view of the bridge. Likewise, it can detect a 0.1-mm wide line that replicates the damage (e.g., a crack) from a position 0.5 m away and while the camera moves at 0.3 m/s. These characteristics have yielded a system that can acquire inspection images from critical parts of the bridge. An evaluation by third parties confirmed the effectiveness of the system. Further, the system satisfies the mandatory requirements of the Next Generation Robots for Social Infrastructure (NGRSI) program.

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Development and field test of novel two-wheeled UAV for bridge inspections

Cited by 25 publications

References 14 publications

Fully-Actuated Aerial Manipulator for Infrastructure Contact Inspection: Design, Modeling, Localization, and Control

Fully-Actuated Aerial Manipulator for Infrastructure Contact Inspection: Design, Modeling, Localization, and Control

Autonomous Hybrid Ground/Aerial Mobility in Unknown Environments

Close visual bridge inspection using a UAV with a passive rotating spherical shell

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