Understanding the omnidirectional capability of a generic multi-rotor aerial vehicle

Abstract

The aim of this work is to present the necessary conditions for the design of an omnidirectional Multi-Rotor Aerial Vehicle (MRAV), while taking into consideration its geometry, weight, and actuation limits. The work formally defines these conditions and presents numerical metrics that reflect the satisfaction of the omnidirectional property. These metrics are then applied to assess the omnidirectional property of "Omni-plus-seven", i.e., an omnidirectional MRAV consisting of a hepta-rotor with uni-directional thrusters [1]. Finally the work shows the use of such metrics in the design of a new platform with similar geometry and modified weight and actuators.

Static Hovering Realization for Multirotor Aerial Vehicles with Tiltable Propellers

“…where ball R 3 (0 0 0, mg) refers to a topological ball centered about the origin 0 0 0 with radius mg. As proposed in [19], to understand numerically if a platform is OD (i.e., satisfies condition ( 18)), it is enough to compare the platform's Omnidirectional Lift (ODL) to its weight. The ODL was defined as the radius of the maximum inscribed sphere inside of the platform's set of feasible forces F .…”

“…While multiple papers analyzed thoroughly the ability of platforms with fixed propellers to hover at different orientations [18], or even achieve omnidirectional flight, such analysis for platforms with tiltable propellers is still missing in the literature. While the work in [9] and [19] discuss such abilities for both fixed and actuated propellers, their formulation is generic to both types of platforms, and as such, does not cover comprehensively the effect of propeller tilting on the platform's ability to hover.…”

Modelling, Analysis, and Control of OmniMorph: an Omnidirectional Morphing Multi-rotor UAV

“…In the literature, different actuation strategies to achieve omnidirectionality have been proposed. In [11], a novel metric to assess the omnidirectional property of a generic multi-rotor aerial vehicle was presented. This metric is calculated numerically from the force set of the platform, and as such it relies on the platform geometry and thrusters; moreover, it allows a direct assessment of a platform's omnidirectional property given its weight.…”

“…This metric is calculated numerically from the force set of the platform, and as such it relies on the platform geometry and thrusters; moreover, it allows a direct assessment of a platform's omnidirectional property given its weight. [11] also showed the use of this metric in the process of upgrading the design presented in [12], by placing the propellers on a virtual sphere centered around the platform's Center of Mass (CoM). In the following, we categorize omnidirectional designs into three main classes.…”

Whole-Body Control and Teleoperation of a Suspended Aerial Manipulator

“…Such platforms have rotary wings distributed to allow the independent application of forces and torques along and around all spatial directions. A complete explanation of the properties of omnidirectional aerial vehicles is provided in Hamandi et al (2021a). In addition, Hamandi et al (2021b) introduces a taxonomy for the design of multirotor aerial vehicles based on input allocation.…”