Theory and Applications for Control of Aerial Robots in Physical Interaction Through Tethers

Abstract

This chapter provides a global overview of the topic treated in this book. In particular, we shall firstly contextualize the work in the wide panorama of aerial robotics, and more precisely, of aerial physical interaction. Afterword, we will focus our attention to the topic of this work, i.e., tethered aerial vehicles. We shall cover the scientific and practical motivations that brought us analyzing these kind of systems, listing the several objectives and challenges at which we aim in this work. We finally provide a reader’s guide describing in a detailed way the organization and content of the book. 1.1 Aerial physical interaction One of the robotic fields in constant growth in the last decade is aerial robotics. According to [19], the definition of aerial robotics can be twofold: i) robotic flying machines, putting the emphasis on the platform, or ii) robotics that use flying machines, putting the emphasis on the mission instead. In both cases, the main goal of aerial robotics is to study and conceive aerial systems that can perform work fully or partially autonomously. In the related literature, such robotic aerial platforms are often called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Although it is only recently that UAVs gained the interest of a very big and still increasing community, the study and design of such systems started already in the early 1900s. These vehicles were firstly used as prototypes to test new aircraft concepts before being produced and piloted by human pilots, decreasing the costs and the risks. The design of UAVs continued during the two World Wars for military purposes. However, the technology level was not enough to produce aerial robots able to autonomously navigate in a reliable way. It is only relatively recently, with the advent of lightweight and performing processors, accurate sensors and global navigation satellite systems, that aerial robots started to progressively gain better sensing and navigation capabilities. Although firstly employed in the military area, UAVs got a lot of interest from the civil area as well. Given the exponential appear-