This thesis investigates cooperative aerial transportation using multiple fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) connected to a shared payload via cables. Unlike multirotor platforms, fixed-wing UAVs are subject to constraints such as non-zero forward velocity, which complicates cooperative manipulation tasks.
The work is structured in two main phases. First, it analyses the system's ability to return the payload to a desired static pose in the presence of initial positioning errors or constant external disturbances. Then, it extends the control framework to enable dynamic trajectory tracking of the load. In both cases, feasible trajectories for the fixed-wing carriers are generated to ensure continuous motion, respecting their flight constraints and guaranteeing that they never stop. The proposed controller is based on a task-space feedback wrench approach, coupled with an internal force distribution algorithm to ensure feasible and coordinated cable tensions. The formulation accounts for the full dynamic motion of the load and adheres to the kinematic and dynamic constraints of fixed-wing UAVs.
Crucially, all simulation and test results and control strategies are preceded and supported by rigorous mathematical proofs, which establish system stability, convergence, and constraint satisfaction under the proposed framework. These theoretical guarantees are then validated through comprehensive simulation studies.