A Precise Real-Time Force-Aware Grasping System for Robust Aerial Manipulation
Kenghou Hoi, Yuze Wu, Annan Ding, Junjie Wang, Anke Zhao, Jialiang Hou, Chengqian Zhang, Fei Gao
AI summary
Problem
Existing aerial manipulation systems lack lightweight, high-precision force sensing, often relying on heavy or vision-based methods that suffer from noise and computational limits, making safe interaction with fragile objects difficult.
Approach
The system integrates six coin-sized magnetic soft tactile sensors and a reference Hall sensor on a deformable quadrotor to decouple geomagnetic interference, enabling real-time 3D force estimation and adaptive admittance control for compliant grasping.
Key results
- Lightweight 556g deformable quadrotor with distributed tactile sensing array
- Novel geomagnetic compensation method using a reference Hall sensor for stable force readings during flight
- Adaptive admittance control framework enabling precise force modulation and real-time weight measurement
- Successful real-world validation in balloon grasping, dynamic load variation, and fragile object handling without external motion capture
Why it matters
Enables practical, fully onboard force-sensitive aerial manipulation for delicate tasks in unstructured environments, advancing the deployment of aerial robots in real-world applications.
Abstract
Aerial manipulation requires force-aware capabil- ities to enable safe and effective grasping and physical interac- tion. Previous works often rely on heavy, expensive force sensors unsuitable for typical quadrotor platforms, or perform grasping without force feedback, risking damage to fragile objects. To address these limitations, we propose a novel force-aware grasp- ing framework incorporating six low-cost, sensitive skin-like tactile sensors. We introduce a magnetic-based tactile sensing module that provides high-precision three-dimensional force measurements. We eliminate geomagnetic interference through a reference Hall sensor and simplify the calibration process compared to previous work. The proposed framework enables precise force-aware grasping control, allowing safe manipula- tion of fragile objects and real-time weight measurement of grasped items. The system is validated through comprehensive real-world experiments, including balloon grasping, dynamic load variation tests, and ablation studies, demonstrating its effectiveness in various aerial manipulation scenarios. Our approach achieves fully onboard operation without external mo- tion capture systems, significantly enhancing the practicality of *Equal contribution. 1State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Tech- nology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. 2Huzhou Institute, Zhejiang University, Huzhou 313000, China. 3State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power and Mechatronic Systems, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. 4Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Additive Manufacturing Technology and Equipment, School of Mechanical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. This work was supported by the National Key RD Program of China under grant No. 2023YFB4706600, the Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Plan Project under Grant No. 2024C01170 and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 62322314. (Corre- sponding Author: Jialiang Hou, Chengqian Zhang, Fei Gao.) E-mail: {kenghouhoi, jlhou25, fgaoaa}@zju.edu.cn force-sensitive aerial manipulation. The supplementary video is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbcZkrJEf1I.