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Aerial Robotics and Vehicles: Control and Mechanical Design

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Robotics and Automation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2024) | Viewed by 7644

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Instituto Politécnico Nacional-CITEDI, Baja California 22435, Mexico
Interests: nonlinear systems; robotics; underactuated systems; neural networks; complex systems; mechatronics; aerial autonomous systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88011, USA
Interests: control systems; autonomous systems; computer vision; aerial autonomous systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
DEPI, TecNM/Instituto Tecnológico de la Laguna, Torreón 27000, Mexico
Interests: aerial autonomous systems; nonlinear control design; wheeled mobile robot control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aerial robotics has been an active area of research for several decades. The development of sophisticated auto-pilot systems for manned and unmanned vehicles, intelligent autonomous navigation systems, novel materials and microelectromechanical systems for biomimetic aerial robots and aerial manipulators have seen a large range of applications.

The advantages of modern embedded computing, accurate GPS positioning, low-cost sensors, and low-cost lightweight aerial vehicles have increased the number of applications in aerial robotics.

Aerial robotic vehicles have complex and sometimes partially known dynamic models. Moreover, the design and control of these systems may be challenging if the available sensors are inefficient.

Sophisticated control and estimation techniques commonly arise from prototype-specific requirements and constraints. For example, efficient control and estimation techniques should deal with the highly nonlinear dynamic model of vehicles. They should also ensure stability under the conditions of a dynamically changing environment. The literature shows that robust and nonlinear control and estimation algorithms can significantly improve the performance of aerial robotic systems.

Aerial robotics has diverse areas of development; for example, aerial manipulation is one of the main areas of opportunity in this field. It aims to combine the versatility and agility of some aerial platforms with the manipulation capabilities of a robotic manipulator arm. In addition, biological inspiration has also enriched the field of aerial robotics. Flight principles encountered in birds and insects have motivated the design and development of estimation and control strategies, as well as of sensing, actuation, and even motor driving mechanisms.

The main goal of this Special Issue is to collect recent results on aerial robotics, especially those that are concerned with practical and theoretical problems, efficient implementations in applications, as well as novel designs whose advantages can be proven by simulations.

The topics of this Special Issue cover a wide range of important applications in aerial robotics, such as:

  • Modeling;
  • Control design;
  • Attitude estimation;
  • Visual feedback;
  • Real-time embedded system;
  • Practical challenges in implementation;
  • Aerial manipulation;
  • Mechanical design;
  • Bio-inspired aerial robot;
  • Mathematical modeling;
  • Simulation.

Prof. Dr. Javier Moreno-Valenzuela
Dr. Luis Rodolfo Garcia Carrillo
Prof. Dr. Alejandro Enrique Dzul López
Guest Editors

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • modeling
  • control design
  • attitude estimation
  • visual feedback
  • real-time embedded system
  • practical challenges in implementation
  • aerial manipulation
  • mechanical design
  • bio-inspired aerial robot
  • mathematical modeling
  • simulation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2845 KiB  
Article
Robust Control for a Slung-Mass Quadcopter Under Abrupt Velocity Changes
by Sergio Salazar, Jonathan Flores, Iván González-Hernández, Yukio Rosales-Luengas and Rogelio Lozano
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(24), 11592; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142411592 - 12 Dec 2024
Viewed by 672
Abstract
This paper addresses the robust control for a slung-mass quadrotor under abrupt velocity changes. The proposed algorithm is based on a sliding mode controller applied to the quadrotor translational dynamics considering the slung-mass angle as feedback. A Lyapunov candidate function is used to [...] Read more.
This paper addresses the robust control for a slung-mass quadrotor under abrupt velocity changes. The proposed algorithm is based on a sliding mode controller applied to the quadrotor translational dynamics considering the slung-mass angle as feedback. A Lyapunov candidate function is used to demonstrate system stability. Numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate stability in hover, forward flight, and under abrupt velocity changes. Experimental tests show that the proposed approach is also robust for stabilizing the aerial vehicle against disturbances caused by slung-load oscillations and wind gusts in outdoor environments by stopping the forward velocity from 29 km/h to hover by compensating within 1 s for the slung-mass oscillations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerial Robotics and Vehicles: Control and Mechanical Design)
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26 pages, 16329 KiB  
Article
Quadcopters in Smart Agriculture: Applications and Modelling
by Katia Karam, Ali Mansour, Mohamad Khaldi, Benoit Clement and Mohammad Ammad-Uddin
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(19), 9132; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14199132 - 9 Oct 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3459
Abstract
Despite technological growth and worldwide advancements in various fields, the agriculture sector continues to face numerous challenges such as desertification, environmental pollution, resource scarcity, and the excessive use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers. These unsustainable problems in agricultural field can lead to land [...] Read more.
Despite technological growth and worldwide advancements in various fields, the agriculture sector continues to face numerous challenges such as desertification, environmental pollution, resource scarcity, and the excessive use of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers. These unsustainable problems in agricultural field can lead to land degradation, threaten food security, affect the economy, and put human health at risk. To mitigate these global issues, it is essential for researchers and agricultural professionals to promote advancements in smart agriculture by integrating modern technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), and more. Among these technologies, this paper focuses on UAVs, particularly quadcopters, which can assist in each phase of the agricultural cycle and improve productivity, quality, and sustainability. With their diverse capabilities, quadcopters have become the most widely used UAVs in smart agriculture and are frequently utilized by researchers in various projects. To explore the different aspects of quadcopters’ use in smart agriculture, this paper focuses on the following: (a) the unique advantages of quadcopters over other UAVs, including an examination of the quadcopter types particularly used in smart agriculture; (b) various agricultural missions where quadcopters are deployed, with examples highlighting their indispensable role; (c) the modelling of quadcopters, from configurations to the derivation of mathematical equations, to create a well-modelled system that closely represents real-world conditions; and (d) the challenges that must be addressed, along with suggestions for future research to ensure sustainable development. Although the use of UAVs in smart agriculture has been discussed in other papers, to the best of our knowledge, none have specifically examined the most popular among them, “quadcopters”, and their particular use in smart agriculture in terms of types, applications, and modelling techniques. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive survey of quadcopters’ use in smart agriculture and offers researchers and engineers valuable insights into this evolving field, presenting a roadmap for future enhancements and developments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerial Robotics and Vehicles: Control and Mechanical Design)
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23 pages, 4882 KiB  
Article
MRAS Using Lyapunov Theory with Sliding Modes for a Fixed-Wing MAV
by T. Espinoza-Fraire, Armando Saenz, Isaac Gandarilla and Wojciech Giernacki
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(5), 2198; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14052198 - 6 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1201
Abstract
This work applies an adaptive PD controller based on MRAS (Model Reference Adaptive System) using Lyapunov theory with sliding mode theory to a Fixed-wing MAV (Mini Aerial Vehicle). The objective is to design different adjustment mechanisms to obtain a robust adaptive control law [...] Read more.
This work applies an adaptive PD controller based on MRAS (Model Reference Adaptive System) using Lyapunov theory with sliding mode theory to a Fixed-wing MAV (Mini Aerial Vehicle). The objective is to design different adjustment mechanisms to obtain a robust adaptive control law in the presence of unknown perturbation due to wind gusts. Four adjustment mechanisms applied to an adaptive PD controller are compared. The adjustment mechanisms are Lyapunov theory, Lyapunov theory with first-order sliding mode, Lyapunov theory with second-order sliding mode, and Lyapunov theory with high-order sliding mode. Finally, after several simulations, a significant reduction and almost elimination of the unknown perturbations are presented with the addition of the sliding mode theory in the design of the adjustment mechanism for the adaptive PD controller. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerial Robotics and Vehicles: Control and Mechanical Design)
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16 pages, 11100 KiB  
Article
Trajectory Tracking Outer Loop Regressor-Based Adaptive Controller for a Quadrotor
by Ivan Lopez-Sanchez, Jerónimo Moyrón, Luis Rodolfo García Carrillo, Alejandro Dzul and Javier Moreno-Valenzuela
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(22), 12177; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132212177 - 9 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1241
Abstract
A high-level control strategy for a quad rotorcraft Unmanned Aircraft System to perform trajectory tracking tasks is presented, which is based on a regressor-based adaptive approach. The high-level control is designed to interact with a low-level (internal) control loop that cannot be modified [...] Read more.
A high-level control strategy for a quad rotorcraft Unmanned Aircraft System to perform trajectory tracking tasks is presented, which is based on a regressor-based adaptive approach. The high-level control is designed to interact with a low-level (internal) control loop that cannot be modified to suit the needs of academic researchers. Hence, the proposed control framework computes the appropriate high-level inputs for the inner controller, enabling the trajectory tracking task. The controller includes an integral action to overcome steady-state errors that may occur due to parameter estimation errors or constant disturbances. The stability of the equilibrium point is analyzed using Lyapunov theory, which shows that the tracking errors converge to zero and the parameter estimation errors remain bounded. The proposed control framework was tested on a real-time quad rotorcraft platform, and its performance was compared with four different control strategies. The results indicate that the proposed controller exhibits high accuracy and has better performance with respect to the other controllers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerial Robotics and Vehicles: Control and Mechanical Design)
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