Collaborative Object Manipulation on the Water Surface by a UAV-USV Team Using Tethers

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel multi-robot system combining UAV and USV with tethers for precise object manipulation on water surfaces, using a new MPC framework validated through extensive simulations.

Contribution

It introduces a new mathematical model and control framework for UAV-USV tethered systems, advancing collaborative water surface object manipulation.

Findings

Smaller control errors compared to single-robot systems

Faster recovery from disturbances in multi-robot setup

Validated effectiveness through Gazebo simulations

Abstract

This paper introduces an innovative methodology for object manipulation on the surface of water through the collaboration of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) connected to the object by tethers. We propose a novel mathematical model of a robotic system that combines the UAV, USV, and the tethered floating object. A novel Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework is designed for using this model to achieve precise control and guidance for this collaborative robotic system. Extensive simulations in the realistic robotic simulator Gazebo demonstrate the system's readiness for real-world deployment, highlighting its versatility and effectiveness. Our multi-robot system overcomes the state-of-the-art single-robot approach, exhibiting smaller control errors during the tracking of the floating object's reference. Additionally, our multi-robot system demonstrates a shorter recovery time from a disturbance compared to the single-robot approach.