SUÁREZ FERNÁNDEZ-MIRANDA , Alejandro

La manipulación aérea es un campo de investigación que propone la integración de manipuladores robóticos in plataformas aéreas, típicamente multirotores – comúnmente conocidos como "drones" – o helicópteros autónomos. El desarrollo de esta tecnología está motivada por la conveniencia de reducir el tiempo, coste y riesgo asociado a la ejecución...

Comisión Europea - Horizonte 2020 871479

This paper proposes the application of a very low weight (3.2 kg) anthropomorphic dual-arm system capable of rolling along linear infrastructures such as power lines to perform dexterous and bimanual manipulation tasks like the installation of clip-type bird flight diverters or conduct contact-based inspection operations on pipelines to detect...

This paper presents the design and experimental validation of a Fault Detection, Identification and Recovery (FDIR) system intended for multi-UAV applications. The system exploits the information provided by internal position, attitude and visual sensors onboard the UAVs of the fleet for detecting faults in the measurements of the position and...

This paper introduces a novel approach for regulating the pose of a free-flying dual-arm anthropomorphic space manipulator system (SMS) using a finite-time state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) controller. The proposed system finds applications in on-orbit satellite inspection, servicing, space structure assembly, and debris manipulation. The...

This paper presents the design and development of a winged aerial robot with bimanual manipulation capabilities, motivated by the current limitations of aerial manipulators based on multirotor platforms in terms of safety and range/endurance. Since the combination of gliding and flapping wings is more energy e cient in forward flight, we...

This article analyzes the evolution and current trends in aerial robotic manipulation, comprising helicopters, conventional underactuated multirotors, and multidirectional thrust platforms equipped with a wide variety of robotic manipulators capable of physically interacting with the environment. It also covers cooperative aerial manipulation...

This paper considers the problem of performing bimanual aerial manipulation tasks in grabbing conditions, with one of the arms grabbed to a fixed point (grabbing arm) while the other conducts the task (operation arm). The goal was to evaluate the positioning accuracy of the aerial platform and the end effector when the grabbing arm is used as...

Este artículo presenta el primer robot manipulador aéreo con dos brazos antropomórficos diseñado para aplicarse en tareas de inspección y mantenimiento en entornos industriales de difícil acceso para operarios humanos. El robot consiste en una plataforma aérea multirrotor equipada con dos brazos antropomórficos ultraligeros, así como el sistema...

Nature exhibits many examples of birds, insects and flying mammals with flapping wings and limbs offering some functionalities. Although in robotics, there are some examples of flying robots with wings, it has not been yet a goal to add to them some manipulation-like capabilities, similar to ones that are exhibited on birds. The flying robot...

The use of aerial manipulators for the inspection and maintenance of the power grid requires the safe interaction of the robot with high voltage power lines. In order to identify possible faults or malfunctions during the approaching or interaction phases, this paper presents experimental results in a real 15 kV power line, considering four...

Motivated by the convenience of improving the performance of long-reach aerial manipulators in the realization of maintenance tasks on high-voltage power lines, this paper proposes a constrained design optimization method for dual-arm aerial manipulators intended to reduce the weight while increasing the workspace of the robot. This...

This work studies a stabilization problem of flapping-wing flying robots (FWFRs) before a take-off phase while a robot is on a branch. The claw of the FWFR grasps the branch with enough friction to hold the system steady in a stationary condition. Before the take-off, the claw opens itself and the friction between the claw and branch vanishes....

This paper presents the design, modelling, control, and experimental validation of a novel flapping wing aerial robot built with servo actuators that could be applied in search, rescue, and assistance to injured people. The proposed concept design is intended to facilitate the construction of this kind of aerial robots following a modular and...

The ability of aerial manipulation robots to reach and operate in high altitude workspaces may result of interest in a wide variety of applications and scenarios that nowadays cannot be accessed easily by human operators. Consider for example the installation of sensors in polluted areas, the insulation of leaks in pipe structures, or the...

This paper presents an aerial manipulation robot intended to conduct the installation of clip-type bird diverters on power lines, consisting of a multirotor platform equipped with a high force linear actuator and a clamp mechanism that holds the device until it is exerted on the cable. The installation mechanism has been specifically designed...

This paper considers the inspection by contact of long arrays of pipe structures in hard-to-reach places, typical of chemical plants or oil and gas industries, presenting the design of a hybrid rolling-aerial platform capable of landing and moving along the pipes without wasting energy in the propellers during the inspection. The presented...

This letter is focused on the benchmark evaluation and comparison of the flapping and fixed wing flight modes on an hybrid platform developed for the realization of autonomous inspection operations outdoors. The platform combines the high range and endurance of fixed-wing UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), with the higher maneuverability and...