When considering close interaction between a human & an aerial robot, one aspect that is unique to this scenario with respect to other ground-based robotic platforms is the presence of wind disturbances that act on the aerial robot. In order to realize that aerial robots can coexist & collaborate with humans, we must be able to guarantee the safety of humans even in the presence of wind disturbances.
To ensure the safety of human collaborators in such scenarios, this thesis aims to establish a comprehensive safety metric that guides the robot’s motion during such interactions. The aerial robot considered for defining a safety metric is a hexacopter with a tilted-propeller configuration (tilt-hex). In the presence of a known wind disturbance, an aerodynamic model estimates the additional wrench this disturbance provides. The deviation due to this disturbance is then used to construct a safety metric that ensures the aerial robot’s motion is guided and it operates safely within the environment.
In the presence of wind, this safety metric ensures that the aerial robot maintains a safe distance from the human collaborator. The controller that embeds this safety metric is a Non-Linear Model Predictive Controller (NMPC). The controller generates a control input such that the safety constraint is satisfied throughout the trajectory. Thereby ensuring safe operation with the human collaborator.
Simulations were performed to obtain and construct this safety metric and the system was tested with various wind conditions. The system’s performance under these conditions
was then evaluated to determine if the safety metric remained satisfied throughout the whole trajectory.
Finally, a brief conclusion and potential directions for future work have been detailed.