Fuzzy Control for a Kite-Based Tethered Flying Robot

Abstract

Observation providing information from above is important in in large-scale or dangerous rescue activity. This has been done from balloons or airplanes. Balloon observation requires a gas such as helium and takes a relatively long time to prepare, and while airplane observation can be prepared in a relatively short time and is highly mobile, flight time depends on the amount of fuel a plane can carry. We have proposed and developed a kite-based tethered flying robot that complements balloon and airplane observation while providing a short preparation time and long flight time [1]. The objective of our research is autonomous flight information gathering consisting of a kite, a flight unit, a tether and a ground control unit with a line-winding machine. We propose fuzzy controllers for our robot that are inspired by kite flying.