A prototype of aerial manipulator

Abstract

This video shows a special prototype of miniature aerial robot, the aerial manipulator, able to accomplish operations requiring the physical interaction with the surrounding environment while remaining completely airborne. The robot arises from the combination of a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, in particular a ducted-fan configuration, and a miniature robotic arm. The physical interaction relies on impedance control considerations. The control law is able to govern all the degrees of freedom of the system both in free-flight and during the interaction with the surrounding environment. In the latter case, the stability of the contact is robustly preserved. The video shows the robotic setup and the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm in a real-world scenario.