Quadrocopter pole acrobatics

We present the design of a system that allows quadrocopters to balance an inverted pendulum, throw it into the air, and catch and balance it again on a second vehicle. Based on first principles models, a launch condition for the pole is derived and used to design an optimal trajectory to throw the pole towards a second quadrocopter. An optimal catching instant is derived and the corresponding position is predicted by simulating the current position and velocity estimates forward in time. An algorithm is introduced that generates a trajectory for moving the catching vehicle to the predicted catching point in real time. By evaluating the pole state after the impact, an adaptation strategy adapts the catch maneuver such that the pole rotates into the upright equilibrium by itself. Experimental results demonstrate the performance of the system.

Authors

• Dario Brescianini
• Markus Hehn
• Raffaello D'Andrea

Keywords

• Vehicle dynamics
• Trajectory
• Vehicles
• Force
• Vectors
• Drag
• Dynamics
• First-principles
• Polarization State
• Inverted Pendulum
• Optimization Problem
• Center Of Mass
• Optimal Control
• Systematic Errors
• Control Input
• Feedback Control
• Parametrized
• Drag Force
• Moment Of Inertia
• Impact Of Time
• Two-dimensional Model
• Online Appendix
• Angular Speed
• Pitch Angle
• Roll Angle
• Yaw Angle
• Inertial Frame
• Optimal Height
• Vehicle Center
• Trajectory Generation
• Pole Mass