Related papers: An Investigation into Active Control for Accessibl…
The main focus of the work presented in this thesis is to develop an optimal control based formation flying control strategy for high precision formation flying of small satellites that have restricted computation and storage capacity.…
Quadrotors can provide services such as infrastructure inspection and search-and-rescue, which require operating autonomously in cluttered environments. Autonomy is typically achieved with receding-horizon planning, where a short plan is…
New development approaches, including launch vehicles and advances in sensors, computing, and software, have lowered the cost of entry into space, and have enabled a revolution in low-cost, high-risk Small Satellite (SmallSat) missions. To…
This paper focus on the description of the design and performance of the MICROSCOPE satellite and its Drag-Free and Attitude Control System (DFACS). The satellite is derived from CNES' Myriade platform family, albeit with significant…
As part of the Bristol PROVE mission, a nano satellite in low Earth orbit will be required to track a ground based target during a 400 second flyover. This requires agile attitude control that will be achieved using a system of flywheels.…
Spacecraft formation flying serves as a method of astronomical instrumentation that enables the construction of large virtual structures in space. The formation-flying interferometry generally requires very-high control accuracy, and…
We reexamine non-Einsteinian effects observable in the orbital motion of low-orbit artificial Earth satellites. The motivations for doing so are twofold: (i) recent theoretical studies suggest that the correct theory of gravity might…
Accurate and stable spacecraft pointing is a requirement of many astronomical observations. Pointing particularly challenges nanosatellites because of an unfavorable surface area to mass ratio and proportionally large volume required for…
When the first CubeSats were launched nearly two decades ago, few people believed that the miniature satellites would likely prove to be a useful scientific tool. Skeptics abounded. However, the last decade has seen the highly successful…
In recent years, consumer-grade UAVs have been widely adopted by first responders. In general, they are operated manually, which requires trained pilots, especially in unknown GNSS-denied environments and in the vicinity of structures.…
Tiny flying robots hold great potential for search-and-rescue, safety inspections, and environmental monitoring, but their small size limits conventional sensing-especially with poor-lighting, smoke, dust or reflective obstacles. Inspired…
Microgravity rendezvous and close proximity operations (RPO) is a growing area of interest for applications spanning in-space assembly and manufacturing (ISAM), orbital debris remediation, and small body exploration. Microgravity…
Aerial manipulation combines the versatility and speed of flying platforms with the functional capabilities of mobile manipulation, which presents significant challenges due to the need for precise localization and control. Traditionally,…
An all-electric unmanned aerial system with both VTOL and Fixed wing capabilities is designed and optimized for long range surveillance and relief operations. The UAV is equipped with onboard computers and sensors and is capable of carrying…
Fault tolerance is achieved through multiply redundant hardware systems in large civil aircraft. This means of achieving fault tolerance is infeasible for small compact unmanned aerial vehicles. In this paper we apply a fault tolerant…
CubeSats are small satellites used for scientific experiments because they cost less than full sized satellites. Each CubeSat uses an on-board computer. The on-board computer performs sensor measurements, data processing, and CubeSat…
We consider the problem of attitude tracking for small-scale aerobatic helicopters. A small scale helicopter has two subsystems: the fuselage, modeled as a rigid body; and the rotor, modeled as a first order system. Due to the coupling…
Being motivated by ceiling inspection applications via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which require close proximity flight to surfaces, a systematic control approach enabling safe and accurate close proximity flight is proposed in this…
Pushing tasks performed by aerial manipulators can be used for contact-based industrial inspections. Underactuated aerial vehicles are widely employed in aerial manipulation due to their widespread availability and relatively low cost.…
While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly deployed in several missions, their inability of reliable and consistent autonomous landing poses a major setback for deploying such systems truly autonomously. In this paper we present…