Collaborative Flight Transport System and Method via Obstacle Avoidance Path Generation and Control

This technology is a collaborative flight transport system and method for multi-aerial manipulators that combines server-based offline path planning with individual online obstacle avoidance algorithms. It generates paths using Bezier curves and RRT*, and produces smooth trajectories through least-squares interpolation.

Drones face weight limitations that make it difficult to install precise force and torque sensors, preventing the use of conventional force-based control algorithms. Furthermore, existing collaborative transport methods struggle with object recognition in complex environments and suffer from high computational overhead in centralized control systems.

This technology utilizes a constraint-chain-based equation of motion and an adaptive sliding mode controller, eliminating the need for force and torque sensors. It employs Bezier curves and shape-preserving piecewise cubic interpolation for offline path generation. Online, it detects unknown obstacles via vision sensors, allowing a virtual leader to generate corrected paths for safe collaborative transport. Applicable to the aerial transport of large cargo and construction materials, it provides an economical solution for stable multi-drone collaboration without the need for expensive force sensors.

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Key Features:

• Server-based offline path generation using Bezier curves and RRT*
• Control unit utilizing constraint-chain-based equations of motion and adaptive sliding mode controllers without force/torque sensors
• Online obstacle avoidance configuration using vision sensors to detect unknown obstacles
• Collaborative control of multiple manipulators via virtual leader path correction upon obstacle detection