Control-Aware Motion Planning for Task-Constrained Aerial Manipulation

Abstract

Abstract-This paper presents a new method to address the problem of task-constrained motion planning for aerial manipulators. We propose a control-aware planner based on the paradigm of tight coupling between planning and control. Such paradigm is especially useful in aerial manipulation, where the separation between planning and control is not advisable. The proposed sampling based motion planner uses a controller composed of a second-order inverse kinematics algorithm and a dynamic tracker, as a local planner, thus allowing a more natural consideration of the closed-loop system dynamics. For task constrained motions, this method lets to i) sample directly in the reduced and more relevant task space, ii) predict the behavior of the controller avoiding motions that bring to singularities or large tracking errors, and iii) guarantee the correct execution of the maneuver. The method is tested in simulation for a multidirectional-thrust vehicle endowed with a two-DoF manipulator. The proposed approach is very general, and could be applied to ground and underwater robotic systems to perform manipulation or inspection tasks.

The AEROARMS Project: Aerial Robots with Advanced Manipulation Capabilities for Inspection and Maintenance

“…An approach that reinforces the connection between motion planning and control in the context of aerial manipulation has been developed [36]. The underlying idea consists in using the controller as a local method to connect neighboring states within a (global) motion planning algorithm.…”

A Truly-Redundant Aerial Manipulator System With Application to Push-and-Slide Inspection in Industrial Plants

“…II, and also take into account the dynamics of the aerial manipulator, as well as its kinematics and input limits. For these reasons, we use our previously presented Control-Aware Motion Planner [16]. It is a kinodynamic task-constrained motion planner based on a tight combination of motion planning algorithms and control methods, that was customized for fully-actuated aerial manipulators.…”

“…the inspection task. This redundancy can be also exploited during motion planning to choose the best configuration in terms of input feasibility, manipulability, and energy efficiency, and to avoid surrounding obstacles (e.g., see [16]).…”

Design, modeling, and control of an aerial manipulator for placement and retrieval of sensors in the environment

“…The dynamics of aerial manipulators have been extensively analyzed in the literature, where the most recurrent approach uses the Newton‐Euler formulation to model the aerial system as a whole (Fumagalli et al, 2014; Huber et al, 2013; Korpela et al, 2013; Orsag, Korpela, Bogdan, & Oh, 2014, 2013; Palunko et al, 2012; Suarez et al, 2017; Tognon et al, 2018; Wopereis et al, 2017). In this section, we will briefly represent the dynamics of the aerial manipulator Figure 7.…”