Flapping-Wing Aerial Manipulation Robot with Perching-Launching Capabilities: Integrated Modeling and Control

This paper presents the modeling, control, and simulation of a flapping wing aerial platform equipped with a perching-launching mechanism and a two-degree-of-freedom (DoF) robotic arm intended to conduct manipulation tasks in outdoor scenarios which provide linear support structures for perching, considering as representative application example the contact inspection on power lines. The operation can be divided in four phases: 1) gliding towards the line, 2) perching, 3) manipulation, and 4) launching for flying again. A model of the system is derived and particularized for each phase, relying on numerical methods for simulating the perching and launching phases, following the Lagrange formulation for the equivalent planar manipulator once perched. A state-dependant Riccati equation (SDRE) controller is implemented on the robotic arm to conduct the manipulation task, taking into account that the passive pitch rotation of the base introduces an underactuated dynamics when perched. The model of the system, implemented in Simscape, is validated in simulation.