A parameterized control methodology for a modular flying vehicle

Abstract

Designing a controller that is scalable, robust, and that can adapt to an arbitrary configuration is one of the major challenges of modular robotics. This paper takes one step forward in addressing this challenge by presenting a methodology for controlling any flight-feasible configuration of a modular flying vehicle, in this case the Distributed Flight Array (DFA). In this work we present a well-structured, parameterized controller and describe a method for optimizing its parameters in order to achieve the best possible performance subject to the system's physical constraints. We then show how the configuration space of the DFA can be parameterized by only a few variables and propose a straightforward approach for mapping this configuration space to its control parameter space.