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The validation of highly automated, perception-based driving systems must ensure that they function correctly under the full range of real-world conditions. Scenario-based testing is a prominent approach to addressing this challenge, as it…
Agile flights of autonomous quadrotors in cluttered environments require constrained motion planning and control subject to translational and rotational dynamics. Traditional model-based methods typically demand complicated design and heavy…
Inverted landing is a challenging feat to perform in aerial robots, especially without external positioning. However, it is routinely performed by biological fliers such as bees, flies, and bats. Our previous observations of landing…
Mobile robotic systems are increasingly used in various work environments to support productivity. However, deploying robots in workplaces crowded by human workers and interacting with them results in safety challenges and concerns, namely…
Aerial manipulation (AM) expands UAV capabilities beyond passive observation to contact-based operations at high altitudes and in otherwise inaccessible environments. Although recent advances show promise, most AM systems are developed in…
This paper presents a novel approach for optical flow control of Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs). The task is challenging due to the nonlinearity of optical flow observables. Our proposed Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (INDI) control…
We consider the problem of designing scalable and portable controllers for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to reach time-varying formations as quickly as possible. This brief confirms that deep reinforcement learning can be used in a…
This paper introduces a learning-based visual planner for agile drone flight in cluttered environments. The proposed planner generates collision-free waypoints in milliseconds, enabling drones to perform agile maneuvers in complex…
To rationalize the relatively high investment that industrial automation systems entail, research in the field of intelligent machines should target high value functions such as fettling, die-finishing, deburring, and fixtureless…
Multicopter drones are becoming a key platform in several application domains, enabling precise on-the-spot sensing and/or actuation. We focus on the case where the drone must process the sensor data in order to decide, depending on the…
The widespread adoption of quadrotors for diverse applications, from agriculture to public safety, necessitates an understanding of the aerodynamic disturbances they create. This paper introduces a computationally lightweight model for…
In this work, we evaluate the use of aerial drone hover constraints in a multisensor fusion of ground robot and drone data to improve the localization performance of a drone. In particular, we build upon our prior work on cooperative…
Air transportation is a complex system characterised by a plethora of interactions at multiple temporal and spatial scales; as a consequence, even simple dynamics like sequencing aircraft for landing can lead to the appearance of emergent…
Accurate mathematical models of aerodynamic properties play an important role in the aerospace field. In some cases, system parameters of an aircraft can be estimated reliably only via flight tests. In order to obtain meaningful…
A key challenge to ensuring the rapid transition of robotic systems from the industrial sector to more ubiquitous applications is the development of algorithms that can guarantee safe operation while in close proximity to humans. Motion…
Soft robotic manipulators offer operational advantage due to their compliant and deformable structures. However, their inherently nonlinear dynamics presents substantial challenges. Traditional analytical methods often depend on simplifying…
Deep Reinforcement Learning has proved to be able to solve many control tasks in different fields, but the behavior of these systems is not always as expected when deployed in real-world scenarios. This is mainly due to the lack of domain…
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is the next generation of air transportation that includes new entrants such as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, increasingly autonomous flight operations, and small UAS package delivery.…
Smart Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) have transformed infrastructure inspection by enabling efficient, high-resolution monitoring at various stages of construction, including hard-to-reach areas. Traditional manual operation of drones in…
Reinforcement Learning (RL) has enabled vast performance improvements for robotics systems. To achieve these results though, the agent often must randomly explore the environment, which for safety critical systems presents a significant…