Related papers: AeCoM: An Aerial Continuum Manipulator with Precis…
The ability to enter in contact with and manipulate physical objects with a flying robot enables many novel applications, such as contact inspection, painting, drilling, and sample collection. Generally, these aerial robots need more…
The recent development of novel aerial vehicles capable of physically interacting with the environment leads to new applications such as contact-based inspection. These tasks require the robotic system to exchange forces with…
Aerial manipulation combines the maneuverability of multirotors with the dexterity of robotic arms to perform complex tasks in cluttered spaces. Yet planning safe, dynamically feasible trajectories remains difficult due to whole-body…
This paper presents a nonlinear control strategy for an aerial cooperative payload transportation system consisting of two quadrotor UAVs rigidly connected to a payload. The system includes human physical interaction facilitated by an…
The Roller-Quadrotor is a novel quadrotor that combines the maneuverability of aerial drones with the endurance of ground vehicles. This work focuses on the design, modeling, and experimental validation of the Roller-Quadrotor. Flight…
In tendon driven continuum manipulators (TDCMs), reconfiguring the tendon routing enables tailored spatial deformation of the backbone. This work presents a design in which tendons can be rerouted either prior to or after actuation by…
We present a novel general model that unifies the kinematics of constant curvature and constant twist continuum manipulators. Combining this kinematics with energy-based physics, we derive a linear mapping from actuator configuration to…
This paper presents a first contribution to the design of a small aerial robot for inhabited microgravity environments, such as orbiting space stations. In particular, we target a fleet of robots for collaborative tasks with humans, such as…
To achieve accurate contour tracking of robotic manipulators with dynamic uncertainties, coupling and actuator faults, an adaptive non-singular terminal sliding mode control (ANTSMC) based on cross-coupling is proposed. Firstly, the…
Selecting an appropriate motor-gearbox combination is a critical design task in robotics because it directly affects cost, mass, and dynamic performance. This process is especially challenging in modular robots with closed kinematic chains,…
Rapid and versatile object manipulation in air is an open challenge. An energy-efficient and adaptive soft gripper combined with an agile aerial vehicle could revolutionize aerial robotic manipulation in areas such as warehousing. This…
Tendon-driven underactuated hands excel in adaptive grasping but often suffer from kinematic unpredictability and highly non-linear force transmission. This ambiguity limits their ability to perform precise free-motion shaping and deliver…
This survey paper focuses on quadrotor- and multirotor- based cooperative aerial manipulation. Emphasis is first given on comparing and evaluating prototype systems that have been implemented and tested in real-time in diverse application…
Quadrotors can carry slung loads to hard-to-reach locations at high speed. Since a single quadrotor has limited payload capacities, using a team of quadrotors to collaboratively manipulate a heavy object is a scalable and promising…
A spherical robot has many practical advantages as the entire electronics are protected within a hull and can be carried easily by any Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). However, its use is limited due to finding mounts for sensors. Pendulum…
Recent spacecraft mission concepts propose larger payloads that have lighter, less rigid structures. For large lightweight structures, the natural frequencies of their vibration modes may fall within the attitude controller bandwidth,…
This thesis introduces a novel quadrotor manipulation system that consists of 2-link manipulator attached to the bottom of a quadrotor. This new system presents a solution for the drawbacks found in the current quadrotor manipulation system…
Designing aerial robots for specialized tasks, from perching to payload delivery, requires tailoring their aerodynamic shape to specific mission requirements. For tasks involving wide flight envelopes, the usual sequential process of first…
Designing ground-aerial robots is challenging due to the increased actuation requirements which can lead to added weight and reduced locomotion efficiency. Morphobots mitigate this by combining actuators into multi-functional groups and…
This work briefly covers our efforts to stabilize the flight dynamics of Northeastern's tailless bat-inspired micro aerial vehicle, Aerobat. Flapping robots are not new. A plethora of examples is mainly dominated by insect-style design…