Generation and real-time implementation of high-speed controlled maneuvers using an autonomous 19-gram quadrotor

Abstract

We present a new experimental method for the generation and real-time implementation of high-speed aerobatic maneuvers, including multiple flips, on a 19-gram autonomous quadrotor. A key element in the proposed approach is the design and experimental tuning of a gain scheduling control strategy in which two linear time-invariant (LTI) controllers are alternatingly activated and deactivated to switch between a normal flight mode and an aerobatic mode, enabling the flyer to perform consecutive multiple flips in a robustly stable manner. The implementation of the controllers is done using on-board power, sensors and computing capabilities, so that the quadrotor remains fully autonomous during flight. Notably, the attainment of autonomy, using real-time control, is made possible by the development of a new method for speed planning based on cubic functions, the geometric generalization of the notion of multi-flip and the empirical identification of the flyer's dynamics, required for trajectory generation and controller synthesis. Compelling experimental results demonstrate the suitability of the proposed approach. In particular, we present maneuvers that include consecutive single, double, and triple flips about the flyer's roll principal axis and a non-principal axis. To the best of our knowledge, to this date, the flyer used in this research is the smallest controlled quadrotor to have autonomously accomplished three consecutive flips while remaining stable.