In this paper, we describe an algorithm, based on the well-known Unscented Quaternion Estimator, to estimate external forces and torques acting on a quadrotor. This formulation uses a non-linear model for the quadrotor dynamics, naturally incorporates process and measurement noise, requires only a few parameters to be tuned manually, and uses singularity-free unit quaternions to represent attit...

Tools for quadrotor trajectory design have enabled single videographers to create complex aerial video shots that previously required dedicated hardware and several operators. We build on this prior work by studying film-maker’s working practices which informed a system design that brings expert workflows closer to end-users. For this purpose, we propose WYFIWYG, a new quadrotor camera tool whi...

Title of thesis: OPEN LOOP SYSTEM IDENTIFICATION OF A MICRO QUADROTOR HELICOPTER FROM CLOSED LOOP DATA Derek Scott Miller, Master of Science, 2011 Thesis directed by: Professor J. Sean Humbert Department of Aerospace Engineering Quadrotors are a favorite platform amongst academic researchers. Yet there is limited work present on the identification of Linear Time Invariant (LTI) state space mode...

Abstract: Quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have gained a lot of research interest in the past few years, due to the clear advantages posed by their vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), hovering capability, and slow precise movements. These characteristics make quadrotors an ideal candidate for applications that require traversing through difficult environments with many obstacles. Bel...

We propose and investigate a system in which teams of quadrotor helicopters assemble 2.5-D structures from simple structural nodes and members equipped with magnets. The structures, called Special Cubic Structures (SCS), are a class of 2.5-D truss-like structures free of overhangs and holes. Grippers attached to the bottom of each quadrotor enable them to pick up, transport, and assemble the st...

An attitude control strategy based on Ziegler-Nichols rules for tuning PD (proportional-derivative) parameters of quadrotor helicopters is presented to solve the problem that quadrotor tends to be instable. This problem is caused by the narrow definition domain of attitude angles of quadrotor helicopters. The proposed controller is nonlinear and consists of a linear part and a nonlinear part. T...

This paper provides new results for control of complex flight maneuvers for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The flight maneuvers are defined by a concatenation of flight modes or primitives, each of which is achieved by a nonlinear controller that solves an output tracking problem. A mathematical model of the quadrotor UAV rigid body dynamics, defined on the configuration space SE(3)...

The aim of the present work is to continue the development of the prototype ALIV3, focusing on the estimation and control of the attitude. First the differences in motion and configurations of a tilt-quadrotor in relation with a common quadrotor are explained. The mass properties and actuators of the prototype are measured through tests specially developed. In the identification of the motors t...

This paper addresses the problem of autonomous quadrotor navigation within indoor spaces. In particular, we focus on the case where a visual map of the area, represented as a graph of linked images, is constructed offline (from visual and inertial data collected beforehand) and used to determine visual paths for the quadrotor to follow. Moreover, during the actual navigation, the quadrotor empl...

The flexibility and controllability of quadrotor helicopters have made them a recent focus of interest among robotics and AI research groups. At the same time, their popularity has led to a wide range of commercially available platforms, some at prices accessible for undergraduate educational use. This project evaluates the ARDrone quadrotor helicopter as a basis for use in undergraduate classe...