I For One Welcome Our New Robotic Overlords

Via IDSC, ETH Zürich, Switzerland

To achieve this task, novel approaches are required. Unlike previous algorithms used to perform very rapid flips, juggle balls individually, or move in synchrony with each other, this task requires cooperation between physically coupled flying vehicles that fly at the limits of their capabilities, exploiting the dynamical potential that these vehicles provide.

The algorithms that are used include an optimality-based real-time trajectory generation for the catching maneuver, a time-varying trajectory following control strategy to control the individual vehicles under consideration of the forces induced by the net, and learning algorithms that accommodate model inaccuracies in the aiming of the ball.

By Robin Ritz, Mark W. Müller, Markus Hehn, and Raffaello D'Andrea.