Robohub.org
 

Cooperative payload transport with quadrotors


by
18 November 2010



share this:

Just the other day, a noisy helicopter was flying above campus, carrying large batches of solar panels to hard to reach rooftops. You might have also seen people dangling from helicopters in rescue missions or the transportation of materials in military, industrial and construction applications. Pushing the limits of aerial payload transportation this spring, the Alinghi catamaran was “shipped” to sea using a Mil Mi-26 helicopter, the biggest and most powerful in the world (see picture below).

AP Photo/Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott

Rather than going for large helicopters with experienced pilots, Michael et al. explore the possibility of using multiple autonomous quadrotors. By working together, the robots can potentially lift heavy objects and can position themselves in such a way that the pose of the object can be controlled. Simply put, in the image above, there is no way to tilt the catamaran sideways by 45 degrees whereas a system with multiple robots could do the trick.

More specifically, the researchers consider the problem of controlling multiple robots manipulating and transporting a payload in three dimensions via cables. To do so they derive a mathematical model that ensures static equilibrium of the payload at a desired pose while respecting constraints on cable tensions.

Experiments shown in the video below were conducted with three AscTec Humming-bird quadrotors from Ascending Technologies GmbH. Localization information was provided by a Vicon motion capture system that consists in a set of cameras in the room that monitor the robots at high speed. The robots are able to lift a triangular payload, change its pose and transport it while avoiding inter-robot collisions.

In the future, Michael et al. hope to find a way to make the robots damp out oscillations that occur when the payload moves.




Sabine Hauert is President of Robohub and Associate Professor at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory
Sabine Hauert is President of Robohub and Associate Professor at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory





Related posts :



Robot Talk Episode 126 – Why are we building humanoid robots?

  20 Jun 2025
In this special live recording at Imperial College London, Claire chatted to Ben Russell, Maryam Banitalebi Dehkordi, and Petar Kormushev about humanoid robotics.

Gearing up for RoboCupJunior: Interview with Ana Patrícia Magalhães

and   18 Jun 2025
We hear from the organiser of RoboCupJunior 2025 and find out how the preparations are going for the event.

Robot Talk Episode 125 – Chatting with robots, with Gabriel Skantze

  13 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Gabriel Skantze from KTH Royal Institute of Technology about having natural face-to-face conversations with robots.

Preparing for kick-off at RoboCup2025: an interview with General Chair Marco Simões

and   12 Jun 2025
We caught up with Marco to find out what exciting events are in store at this year's RoboCup.

Interview with Amar Halilovic: Explainable AI for robotics

  10 Jun 2025
Find out about Amar's research investigating the generation of explanations for robot actions.

Robot Talk Episode 124 – Robots in the performing arts, with Amy LaViers

  06 Jun 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Amy LaViers from the Robotics, Automation, and Dance Lab about the creative relationship between humans and machines.

Robot Talk Episode 123 – Standardising robot programming, with Nick Thompson

  30 May 2025
In the latest episode of the Robot Talk podcast, Claire chatted to Nick Thompson from BOW about software that makes robots easier to program.

Congratulations to the #AAMAS2025 best paper, best demo, and distinguished dissertation award winners

  29 May 2025
Find out who won the awards presented at the International Conference on Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems last week.



 

Robohub is supported by:




Would you like to learn how to tell impactful stories about your robot or AI system?


scicomm
training the next generation of science communicators in robotics & AI


©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence


 












©2025.05 - Association for the Understanding of Artificial Intelligence