This paper presents a methodology for computing artificial vector fields that allows a robot to converge to and circulate around generic curves specified in n-dimensional spaces. These vector fields may be directly applied to solve several robot navigation problems such as border monitoring, surveillance, target tracking and multi-robot pattern generation, with special application to fixed-wing...

Reinforcement learning systems improve behaviour based on scalar rewards from a critic. In this work vision based behaviours, servoing and Wandering, are learned through a Q-learning method which handles continuous states and actions. There is no requirement for camera calibration, an actuator model, or a knowledgeable teacher. Learning thmugh observing the actions of other behaviours improves ...

This paper presents a vector field based methodology for coverage of curves in threedimensional spaces with large groups of fixed-wing aerial robots. We model the robots as spheres with an associated nonholonomic kinematic model with minimum forward speed constraint. Under certain assumptions we guarantee that the robots will converge to and circulate along a desired curve avoiding inter-robot ...

microrobot with a gas combustion mechanism and buoyant outriggers. These design components stabilized the microrobot, overcoming the water’s surface tension to allow take-off. A surfactant coating enabled diving, and a flapping-wing configuration provided functional propulsion for both air and water environments. The microrobot could land on an elastic surface, hover in air, submerge into water...

It is important to enable micro aerial vehicles to land and perch on different surfaces to save energy by cutting power to motors and to perform tasks such as persistent surveillance. In many cases, the best available surfaces may be vertical windows, walls, or inclined roof tops. In this paper, we present approaches and algorithms for aggressive maneuvering to enable perching of underactuated ...

The design of a relatively new genre of aerial robots — a full-scale, bird-like flapping wing flying robot — is analyzed, modelled and validated through real experiments in this paper. Quaternions are used instead of Euler angles in the dynamical model to represent the flying robot orientation in 3D space in order to realize smoother rotational manoeuvres using spherical linear interpolation. E...

Flying insects and robots that mimic them flap and rotate (or ‘pitch’) their wings with large angular amplitudes. The reciprocating nature of flapping requires rotation of the wing at the end of each stroke. Insects or flapping-wing robots could achieve this by directly exerting moments about the axis of rotation using auxiliary muscles or actuators. However, completely passive rotational dynam...

This paper analyzes the lift-production system in hovering of flapping wing robot COLIBRI size a hummingbird. The first examines mechanism for which new gear transmission is proposed to reduce friction and facilitate assembly. Next, sensitivity analysis performed on size. Then, discusses several options gearbox, various DC motors two battery configurations (a single or batteries series) minimiz...