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BEATLE -- Self-Reconfigurable Aerial Robot: Design, Control and Experimental Validation

Junichiro Sugihara, Moju Zhao, Takuzumi Nishio, Kei Okada, Masayuki Inaba

Abstract

Modular self-reconfigurable robots (MSRRs) offer enhanced task flexibility by constructing various structures suitable for each task. However, conventional terrestrial MSRRs equipped with wheels face critical challenges, including limitations in the size of constructible structures and system robustness due to elevated wrench loads applied to each module. In this work, we introduce an Aerial MSRR (A-MSRR) system named BEATLE, capable of merging and separating in-flight. BEATLE can merge without applying wrench loads to adjacent modules, thereby expanding the scalability and robustness of conventional terrestrial MSRRs. In this article, we propose a system configuration for BEATLE, including mechanical design, a control framework for multi-connected flight, and a motion planner for reconfiguration motion. The design of a docking mechanism and housing structure aims to balance the durability of the constructed structure with ease of separation. Furthermore, the proposed flight control framework achieves stable multi-connected flight based on contact wrench control. Moreover, the proposed motion planner based on a finite state machine (FSM) achieves precise and robust reconfiguration motion. We also introduce the actual implementation of the prototype and validate the robustness and scalability of the proposed system design through experiments and simulation studies.

BEATLE -- Self-Reconfigurable Aerial Robot: Design, Control and Experimental Validation

Abstract

Modular self-reconfigurable robots (MSRRs) offer enhanced task flexibility by constructing various structures suitable for each task. However, conventional terrestrial MSRRs equipped with wheels face critical challenges, including limitations in the size of constructible structures and system robustness due to elevated wrench loads applied to each module. In this work, we introduce an Aerial MSRR (A-MSRR) system named BEATLE, capable of merging and separating in-flight. BEATLE can merge without applying wrench loads to adjacent modules, thereby expanding the scalability and robustness of conventional terrestrial MSRRs. In this article, we propose a system configuration for BEATLE, including mechanical design, a control framework for multi-connected flight, and a motion planner for reconfiguration motion. The design of a docking mechanism and housing structure aims to balance the durability of the constructed structure with ease of separation. Furthermore, the proposed flight control framework achieves stable multi-connected flight based on contact wrench control. Moreover, the proposed motion planner based on a finite state machine (FSM) achieves precise and robust reconfiguration motion. We also introduce the actual implementation of the prototype and validate the robustness and scalability of the proposed system design through experiments and simulation studies.
Paper Structure (34 sections, 26 equations, 13 figures, 6 tables)

This paper contains 34 sections, 26 equations, 13 figures, 6 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related works
  3. Docking mechanism
  4. Control method
  5. Contributions of this work
  6. Notation
  7. Organization
  8. Design
  9. Rotor Configuration
  10. Docking Mechanism
  11. Housing
  12. Fundamental Flight Control
  13. Single Module Dynamics Model
  14. Pose PID Control
  15. Control Allocation
  16. ...and 19 more sections

Figures (13)

  • Figure 1: The proposed robot platform BEATLE: BEnding-moment-free self-reconfigurable Aerial roboT moduLE. This chronophotography visualizes reconfiguration motion of BEATLE.
  • Figure 2: The proposed control framework for BEATLE: (A) Fundamental Control Flow and (B) Contact Wrench Compensation. Blocks highlighted in bold font denote processes essential for multi-connected flight. Green arrows signify reference inputs from upstream sources, while red arrows indicate information exchange with other modules. Each blue block represents an individual module.
  • Figure 3: The overview of the proposed design for BEATLE. Top: visualization of BEATLE module and its fundamental components. Bottom: visualization of docking mechanisms and housing plates where (a) represents the male side and (b) represents the female side.
  • Figure 4: The diagram illustrating the operation of the coupling mechanism. Some parts are depicted in cross-sectional view for ease of viewing. $l_{1}$-$l_{3}$ are key parameters of design.
  • Figure 5: Coordinate model for BEATLE module.
  • ...and 8 more figures