Optimal Design of Integrated Aerial Platforms with Passive Joints
Yushu Yu, Kaidi Wang, Xin Meng, Jianrui Du, Jiali Sun, Ganghua Lai, Yibo Zhang
AI summary
Problem
Modular aerial platforms with passive joints lack systematic design principles and optimization methods to ensure balanced, fully actuated 6-DoF control across diverse scenarios.
Approach
The authors model platform actuation using a design matrix that encodes sub-vehicle count, layout, and joint constraints, then optimize its condition number to achieve robust full actuation.
Key results
- Introduced a design matrix to parameterize IAP architecture and joint constraints
- Developed an optimization algorithm minimizing the design matrix condition number for robust full actuation
- Designed two optimal IAP configurations for channel navigation and open-area scenarios
- Validated full actuation and direct wrench control via simulations and real-world flight experiments
Why it matters
Provides a practical, optimization-driven framework for designing modular, fully actuated aerial platforms, enabling reliable 6-DoF manipulation in complex or confined environments.
Abstract
The Integrated Aerial Platform (IAP) uses multiple quadrotor sub-vehicles, acting as independent thrust generators, connected to a central platform via passive joints. This setup allows the sub-vehicles to collectively apply forces and torques to the central platform, achieving full six-degree-of-freedom (6-DoF) motion through coordinated thrust and posture adjustments. The IAP’s modular design offers significant advantages in terms of mechanical simplicity, reconfigurability for diverse scenarios, and enhanced mission adaptability. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for IAP modeling and optimal design. We introduce a “design matrix” that encapsulates key architectural parameters, including the number of sub-vehicles, their spatial configuration, and the types of passive joints used. To improve control performance and ensure balanced wrench generation capabilities, we propose an optimized design strategy that minimizes the condition number of this design matrix. Two distinct IAP configurations were optimally designed based on two typical application scenarios. The efficacy of the proposed optimization methodology was subsequently validated through comparative analysis against unoptimized platforms. Moreover, the full actuation capability of the IAP was empirically confirmed via extensive simulations and real-world flight experiments, which also demonstrated its operational performance through direct wrench control experiment.