Safe Operations of an Aerial Swarm via a Cobot Human Swarm Interface

Abstract

Command and control of an aerial swarm is a complex task. This task increases in difficulty when the flight volume is restricted and the swarm and operator inhabit the same workspace. This work presents a novel method for interacting with and controlling a swarm of quadrotors in a confined space. EMG-based gesture control is used to control the position, orientation, and density of the swarm. Inter-agent as well as agent-operator collisions are prevented through a velocity controller based on a distance-based potential function. State feedback is relayed to the operator via a vibrotactile haptic vest. This cobot human swarm interface prioritizes operator safety while reducing the cognitive load during control of a cobot swarm. This work demonstrates that an operator can safely and intuitively control a swarm of aerial robots in the same workspace.