Planning and control for cooperative manipulation and transportation with aerial robots

Abstract

We consider the planning and control of multiple aerial robots manipulating and transporting a payload in three dimensions via cables. Individual robot control laws and motion plans enable the control of the payload (position and orientation) along a desired trajectory. We address the fact that robot configurations may admit multiple payload equilibrium solutions by developing constraints for the robot configuration that guarantee the existence of a unique payload pose. Further, we formulate individual robot control laws that enforce these constraints and enable the design of non-trivial payload motion plans. Finally, we propose two quality measures for motion plan design that minimize individual robot motion and maximize payload stability along the trajectory. The methods proposed in the work are evaluated through simulation and experimentation with a team of three quadrotors.

Dynamic collaboration without communication: Vision-based cable-suspended load transport with two quadrotors

“…Apart from increasing the payload range of a multi-quadrotor system, carrying an object with multiple quadrotors makes it possible to control the orientation of the object without applying any torque to individual quadrotors [5]. Being able to control the orientation of the object can be useful to fit large objects through narrow gaps, or to minimize aerodynamic drag.…”

“…We denote as a and b the x and y coefficients of p. The force exerted by the quadrotor is denoted by f . beyond quasi-static object manipulation [5], [14], [15].…”

Bilateral teleoperation of multiple UAVs with decentralized bearing-only formation control

“…These advantages constitute the main motivation between the high number of recent publications in this field, see [6], [7], [8] just to cite a few. On the other hand, in real scenarios, the complete autonomy of multiagent systems is still far from being a reality because of the complexity and unpredictability of the environment as, e.g., in search and rescue missions.…”

The flying hand: A formation of UAVs for cooperative aerial tele-manipulation

“…In [4], a team of quadrotors are rigidly attached to a payload in order to grasp and transport it. In [5] and in [6] the problem of controlling multiple aerial robots manipulating and transporting a payload via cables is presented. However, the use of cables or others fixed handles is possible only if the load to be carried is accessible and it is possible to fix the cable on it in a specified position.…”