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Omnidirectional micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs) are a growing field of research, with demonstrated advantages for aerial interaction and uninhibited observation. While systems with complete pose omnidirectionality and high hover efficiency have been developed independently, a robust system that combines the two has not been demonstrated to date. This paper presents the design and optimal control of a novel omnidirectional vehicle that can exert a wrench in any orientation while maintaining efficient flight configurations. The system design is motivated by the result of a morphology design optimization. A six-degree-of-freedom optimal controller is derived, with an actuator allocation approach that implements task prioritization, and is robust to singularities. Flight experiments demonstrate and verify the system’s capabilities.

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With the rapid development of Aerial Physical Interaction, the possibility to have aerial robots physically interacting with humans is attracting a growing interest. In one of our previous works [1], we considered one of the first systems in which a human is physically connected to an aerial vehicle by a cable. There, we developed a compliant controller that allows the robot to pull the human toward a desired position using forces only as an indirect communication-channel. However, this controller is based on the robot-state only, which makes the system not adaptable to the human behavior, and in particular to their walking speed. This reduces the effectiveness and comfort of the guidance when the human is still far from the desired point. In this paper, we formally analyze the problem and propose a human-state-aware controller that includes a human's velocity feedback. We theoretically prove and experimentally show that this method provides a more consistent guiding force which enhances the guiding experience.