2021 journal article

Control and Control Allocation for Bimodal, Rotary Wing, Rolling-Flying Vehicles

JOURNAL OF MECHANISMS AND ROBOTICS-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME, 13(5).

By: S. Atay n , M. Bryant n & G. Buckner n

co-author countries: United States of America πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
author keywords: control allocation; mobile robotics; multirotor vehicles; nonlinear control systems; dynamics; flying robots; mobile robots; theoretical kinematics
Source: Web Of Science
Added: September 7, 2021

Abstract This paper presents a robust method for controlling the terrestrial motion of a bimodal multirotor vehicle that can roll and fly. Factors influencing the mobility and controllability of the vehicle are explored and compared to strictly flying multirotor vehicles; the differences motivate novel control and control allocation strategies that leverage the non-standard configuration of the bimodal design. A fifth-order dynamic model of the vehicle subject to kinematic rolling constraints is the basis for a nonlinear, multi-input, multi-output, sliding mode controller. Constrained optimization techniques are used to develop a novel control allocation strategy that minimizes power consumption while rolling. Simulations of the vehicle under closed-loop control are presented. A functional hardware embodiment of the vehicle is constructed onto which the controllers and control allocation algorithm are deployed. Experimental data of the vehicle under closed-loop control demonstrate good performance and robustness to parameter uncertainty. Data collected also demonstrate that the control allocation algorithm correctly determines a thrust-minimizing solution in real-time.