Design of a Suspended Manipulator With Aerial Elliptic Winding

Abstract

Art is one of the oldest forms of human expression, constantly evolving, taking new forms and using new techniques. With their increased accuracy and versatility, robots can be considered as a new class of tools to perform works of art. The STRAD (STReet Art Drone) project aims to perform a 10-meter-high painting on a vertical surface with sub-centimetric precision. To achieve this goal we introduce a new design for an aerial manipulator with elastic suspension capable of moving from one equilibrium position to another using only its thrusters and an elliptic pulley-counterweight system. A feedback linearization control law is implemented to perform fast and accurate winding and unwinding of an elastic cable.