Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In this video we present a reconfigurable robotic system of systems called ARC, the Aerial Robotic Chain that simultaneously presents the ability to cross narrow sections, morph its shape, ferry significant payloads, offer the potential of distributed sensing and processing, and enable system extendability.
The proposed design consists of multiple micro aerial vehicles, or ARC-units, connected in series through rigid links and 3-Degree of Freedom joints. Each ARC-unit integrates a low-level autopilot for attitude and thrust control, alongside an advanced processor and a sensing payload that is different among ARC-units; furthermore, a
communication system wired alongside rigid links allows information to be exchanged between the units.
To control the ARC system, we design a parallel controller architecture consisting of an MPC-based position controller for the leading link and N angular controllers for each link. While the proposed design is generic and applicable to N-connected MAVs; in this work, we have realized an experimental prototype including two ARC-units, named ARC-Alpha.
We conducted a set of experiments to verify the stability and agility of the controller, using a motion capture system to estimate the poses of each unit and the connecting link.
In the first experiment, ARC-Alpha was commanded to follow a trajectory involving a traversal through two windows thus requiring it to change its configuration in space as the planes of the two windows were perpendicular to each other and the width of each was small enough to require ARC-Alpha to traverse it “head-first”.
In the second experiment, ARC-Alpha was required to track a rectangular trajectory five times without change in the orientation of the link. The results demonstrated reliable tracking accuracy and precision of the system.
In the last experiment, the system was commanded to create a helical trajectory by changing the yaw angle of the link while moving the center of gravity of the system along its vertical axis in an upward then downward direction.
This experiment illustrates coordination between two ARC-units to change the yaw angle of the link and reveals the ability of the system to create significant yaw moment by commanding opposite roll angles for its two ARC-units.
Finally, we include simulation results for the ARC System with three units to demonstrate the extendability of the controller.
In this video we present a reconfigurable robotic system of systems called ARC, the Aerial Robotic Chain that simultaneously presents the ability to cross narrow sections, morph its shape, ferry significant payloads, offer the potential of distributed sensing and processing, and enable system extendability.
The proposed design consists of multiple micro aerial vehicles, or ARC-units, connected in series through rigid links and 3-Degree of Freedom joints. Each ARC-unit integrates a low-level autopilot for attitude and thrust control, alongside an advanced processor and a sensing payload that is different among ARC-units; furthermore, a
communication system wired alongside rigid links allows information to be exchanged between the units.
To control the ARC system, we design a parallel controller architecture consisting of an MPC-based position controller for the leading link and N angular controllers for each link. While the proposed design is generic and applicable to N-connected MAVs; in this work, we have realized an experimental prototype including two ARC-units, named ARC-Alpha.
We conducted a set of experiments to verify the stability and agility of the controller, using a motion capture system to estimate the poses of each unit and the connecting link.
In the first experiment, ARC-Alpha was commanded to follow a trajectory involving a traversal through two windows thus requiring it to change its configuration in space as the planes of the two windows were perpendicular to each other and the width of each was small enough to require ARC-Alpha to traverse it “head-first”.
In the second experiment, ARC-Alpha was required to track a rectangular trajectory five times without change in the orientation of the link. The results demonstrated reliable tracking accuracy and precision of the system.
In the last experiment, the system was commanded to create a helical trajectory by changing the yaw angle of the link while moving the center of gravity of the system along its vertical axis in an upward then downward direction.
This experiment illustrates coordination between two ARC-units to change the yaw angle of the link and reveals the ability of the system to create significant yaw moment by commanding opposite roll angles for its two ARC-units.
Finally, we include simulation results for the ARC System with three units to demonstrate the extendability of the controller.
