A Centralised Approach to Aerial Manipulation on Overhanging Surfaces

Master thesis (2023)

Authors

M.B.J. Brummelhuis Aerospace Engineering

Contributors

S. Hamaza (mentor)
E.J.J. Smeur (graduation committee member)
Faculty
Aerospace Engineering, Aerospace Engineering
Copyright: © 2023 Martijn Brummelhuis
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

21-04-2023

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Aerospace Engineering

Abstract

Aerial physical interaction opens the door for many operations at height to be automatised using aerial robots. This research presents a novel manipulator design mounted on a traditional quadrotor, which utilises both mechanical and software compliance to perform physical interaction on vertical walls and overhanging surfaces, such as those found under bridges. A centralised impedance control scheme allows direct control of the end-effector pose without needing separate modes for free-flight and contact. A spring-loaded prismatic joint provides passive compliance while doubling as a force-feedback for the impedance controller through measuring the spring displacement. Simulation and flight experiments prove the feasibility and robustness of this approach for exchanging high forces at height, with a total of 44 successful experiments carried out in four sets. An average maximum force of 5.66 N or 19.3\% of the system's weight was achieved over one set of 11 experiments.