Aerial Tele-Manipulation with Passive Tool via Parallel Position/Force Control

This paper addresses the problem of unilateral contact interaction by an under-actuated quadrotor UAV equipped with a passive tool in a bilateral teleoperation scheme. To solve the challenging control problem of force regulation in contact interaction while maintaining flight stability and keeping the contact, we use a parallel position/force control method, commensurate to the system dynamics and constraints in which using the compliant structure of the end-effector the rotational degrees of freedom are also utilized to attain a broader range of feasible forces. In a bilateral teleoperation framework, the proposed control method regulates the aerial manipulator position in free flight and the applied force in contact interaction. On the master side, the human operator is provided with force haptic feedback to enhance his/her situational awareness. The validity of the theory and efficacy of the solution are shown by experimental results. This control architecture, integrated with a suitable perception/localization pipeline, could be used to perform outdoor aerial teleoperation tasks in hazardous and/or remote sites of interest

EigenMPC: An Eigenmanifold-Inspired Model-Predictive Control Framework for Exciting Efficient Oscillations in Mechanical Systems

This paper proposes a Nonlinear Model-Predictive Control (NMPC) method capable of finding and converging to energy-efficient regular oscillations, which require no control action to be sustained. The approach builds up on the recently developed Eigenmanifold theory, which defines the sets of line-shaped oscillations of a robot as an invariant two-dimensional submanifold of its state space. By defining the control problem as a nonlinear program (NLP), the controller is able to deal with constraints in the state and control variables and be energy-efficient not only in its final trajectory but also during the convergence phase. An initial implementation of this approach is proposed, analyzed, and tested in simulation

Controllo del beccheggio di un aereo

L'elaborato in questione si propone come obiettivo quello di descrivere il sistema di controllo del beccheggio di un velivolo aereo, partendo dalla fase di analisi per giungere a quella di progettazion

Conception et contrôle de véhicules aériens multi-rotors a poussé multi-directionnelle avec application aux taches d'interaction physique aérienne

This thesis addresses the study of autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AVs) actively interacting with the surrounding environment, with particular attention to the development of modeling and design techniques, and suitable control strategies for these systems. Due to the intrinsic difficulty and the novelty associated with the study of these systems, new techniques are needed to: i) better describe the aerial vehicle dynamics and its actuation limits; ii) effectively design new aerial prototypes with particular properties of dexterity and resilience; iii) guarantee a stable control during contact-less operations despite the actuation limits; and iv) preserve the system stability also during the contact phase with the environment while guaranteeing the fulfillment of the sought manipulation task. This thesis explores new strategies to overcome, to a certain extent, the under-actuation problem of classical multi-rotor platforms, conceived with the propellers aligned towards a common direction. The goal of this thesis is to contribute to a wise growth of the preliminary theoretical results on multi-directional thrust aerial vehicles laid by the state of the art and, furthermore, to the development of more suitable real aerial robotic systems with enhanced manipulation means, tailored for aerial physical interaction tasks. This thesis takes place inside the context of the European H2020 AeroArms project, whose goal is to develop aerial robotic systems with advanced manipulation capabilities to be applied in industrial inspection and maintenance. Hence, also the technology transfer and the impact on the industry plays here an important role.Cette thèse aborde l’étude de véhicules aériens autonomes interagissant d’une façon active avec l’environnement, en portant une attention particulière au développement des techniques de modélisation, de conception, et de stratégies de commande appropriées pour ces systèmes. L’étude de ces systèmes étant intrinsèquement complexe et relativement récente, de nouvelles techniques sont nécessaires pour : i) mieux décrire la dynamique du véhicule aérien et ses contraintes d’actionnement ; ii) concevoir efficacement de nouveaux prototypes aériens dotés de propriétés particulières de dextérité et de résilience ; iii) garantir un contrôle stable pendant les opérations sans contact malgré les contraintes d’actionnement ; et iv) préserver la stabilité du système pendant la phase de contact avec l’environnement tout en garantissant l’accomplissement de la tâche de manipulation. Cette thèse explore de nouvelles stratégies pour surmonter, dans une certaine mesure, les problèmes de sous-actionnement des véhicules traditionnels, conçus avec les hélices orientées dans une même direction. L’objectif de cette thèse est d’enrichir les résultats théoriques préliminaires sur de nouvelles plateformes et, en outre, de contribuer au développement de systèmes robotiques aériens réels plus appropriés aux moyens de manipulation améliorés et adaptés aux tâches d’interaction physique aérienne. Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre du projet européen H2020 AeroArms, dont le but est de développer des systèmes robotiques aériens dotés de capacités de manipulation avancées à appliquer dans les domaines de l’inspection et de la maintenance industrielles. Par conséquent, l’impact sur l’industrie joue ici un rôle important.629.

Application of Model-Based Systems Engineering in Complex System Development: a Power Management IC case study

embargoed_20250116This thesis explores the use of Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) in the design and development of Power Management Integrated Circuits. PMICs are critical components in modern electronic systems, responsible for managing and regulating power supply to various components of a system; the use of MBSE can greatly improve the efficiency and reliability of systems design, by providing a systematic and hierarchical approach to the development and description of the system. The thesis work begins with a study of the principles and advantages of MBSE, followed by a detailed overview of sysML, the model description language chosen for the project, intending to be a preliminary approach to SysML and Enteprise Architect modeling tool for the reader. Proceeding further, the case study is presented, where MBSE is applied to the design of a first set of modules of PMIC, demonstrating the effectiveness of this technique and the quality of the final design, including the set of simulations performed on the model and final results

Design and Input Allocation for Robots with Saturated Inputs via Genetic Algorithms

International audienceIn this paper we consider fully-actuated and redundantly-actuated robots, whose saturated inputs can have high bandwidth or can be slowly varying (with dynamics). The slowly varying inputs can be considered as configurations for the system. The proposed strategy allows to find the optimal actuators' configuration to optimize a cost function as the manipulability or the energy consumption. The approach allows for both a static design, which can include actuators' parameters such as position, orientation, saturations, numbers of actuators, and for a dynamic design, where the configurations can be controlled by an input of the system. A generalized solution to the optimal problem is proposed with the use of genetic algorithms. The results are validated in two simulation scenarios: a reconfiguration of the actuators orientation of an redundantly-actuated planar robot for trajectory tracking and the design optimization of the orientation of the motors in a generalized hexa-rotor with arbitrary propeller orientation

Modeling and Control of FAST-Hex: a Fully-Actuated by Synchronized-Tilting Hexarotor

Accepted for the 2016 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Daejeon, South Korea, Oct. 2016International audienceWe present FAST-Hex, a novel UAV concept which is able to smoothly change its configuration from underactuated to fully actuated by using only one additional motor that tilts all propellers at the same time. FAST-Hex can adapt to the task at hand by finely tuning its configuration from the efficient (but underactuated) flight (typical of coplanar multi– rotor platforms) to the full-pose-tracking (but less efficient) flight, which is attainable by non-coplanar multi-rotors. We also introduce a novel full-pose geometric controller for generic multi-rotors (not only the FAST-Hex) that outperforms classical inverse dynamics approaches. The controller receives as input any reference pose in R 3 ×SO(3) (3D position + 3D orientation). Exact tracking is achieved if the reference pose is feasible with respect to the propeller spinning rate saturations. In case of unfeasibility a new feasible desired trajectory is generated online giving priority to the positional part. The new controller is tested with the FAST-Hex but can be used for many other multi-rotor platforms: underactuated, slightly fully-actuated and completely fully-actuated

Design and Input Allocation for Robots with Saturated Inputs via Genetic Algorithms

International audienceIn this paper we consider fully-actuated and redundantly-actuated robots, whose saturated inputs can have high bandwidth or can be slowly varying (with dynamics). The slowly varying inputs can be considered as configurations for the system. The proposed strategy allows to find the optimal actuators' configuration to optimize a cost function as the manipulability or the energy consumption. The approach allows for both a static design, which can include actuators' parameters such as position, orientation, saturations, numbers of actuators, and for a dynamic design, where the configurations can be controlled by an input of the system. A generalized solution to the optimal problem is proposed with the use of genetic algorithms. The results are validated in two simulation scenarios: a reconfiguration of the actuators orientation of an redundantly-actuated planar robot for trajectory tracking and the design optimization of the orientation of the motors in a generalized hexa-rotor with arbitrary propeller orientation

Modeling and Control of FAST-Hex: a Fully-Actuated by Synchronized-Tilting Hexarotor

Accepted for the 2016 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Daejeon, South Korea, Oct. 2016International audienceWe present FAST-Hex, a novel UAV concept which is able to smoothly change its configuration from underactuated to fully actuated by using only one additional motor that tilts all propellers at the same time. FAST-Hex can adapt to the task at hand by finely tuning its configuration from the efficient (but underactuated) flight (typical of coplanar multi– rotor platforms) to the full-pose-tracking (but less efficient) flight, which is attainable by non-coplanar multi-rotors. We also introduce a novel full-pose geometric controller for generic multi-rotors (not only the FAST-Hex) that outperforms classical inverse dynamics approaches. The controller receives as input any reference pose in R 3 ×SO(3) (3D position + 3D orientation). Exact tracking is achieved if the reference pose is feasible with respect to the propeller spinning rate saturations. In case of unfeasibility a new feasible desired trajectory is generated online giving priority to the positional part. The new controller is tested with the FAST-Hex but can be used for many other multi-rotor platforms: underactuated, slightly fully-actuated and completely fully-actuated