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arXiv · 2309.07709

Safe Aerial Manipulator Maneuvering and Force Exertion via Control Barrier Functions

Dimitris Chaikalis·Vinicius Goncalves·Nikolaos Evangeliou·Anthony Tzes·Farshad Khorrami
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Abstract

This article introduces a safe control strategy for application of forces to an external object using a dexterous robotic arm mounted on an unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). A hybrid force-motion controller has been developed for this purpose. This controller employs a Control Barrier Function (CBF) constraint within an optimization framework based on Quadratic Programming (QP). The objective is to enforce a predefined relationship between the end-effector's approach motion and its alignment with the surface, thereby ensuring safe operational dynamics. No compliance model for the environment is necessary to implement the controller, provided end-effector force feedback exists. Furthermore, the paper provides formal results, like guarantees of feasibility for the optimization problem, continuity of the controller input as a function of the configuration, and Lyapunov stability. In addition, it presents experimental results in various situations to demonstrate its practical applicability on an aerial manipulator platform.

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Dimitris Chaikalis, Vinicius Goncalves, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Anthony Tzes, Farshad Khorrami. 2023-09-14. Safe Aerial Manipulator Maneuvering and Force Exertion via Control Barrier Functions. https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.07709

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