A Precise Real-Time Force-Aware Grasping System for Robust Aerial Manipulation

TL;DR

This paper presents a real-time, force-aware grasping system for aerial robots using low-cost tactile sensors, enabling safe manipulation of fragile objects and onboard operation without external tracking.

Contribution

It introduces a magnetic-based tactile sensing module with high-precision force measurement and simplifies calibration, advancing force-aware aerial manipulation capabilities.

Findings

Successful real-world grasping of fragile objects

Effective real-time weight measurement of grasped items

System operates fully onboard without external systems

Abstract

Aerial manipulation requires force-aware capabilities to enable safe and effective grasping and physical interaction. Previous works often rely on heavy, expensive force sensors unsuitable for typical quadrotor platforms, or perform grasping without force feedback, risking damage to fragile objects. To address these limitations, we propose a novel force-aware grasping framework incorporating six low-cost, sensitive skin-like tactile sensors. We introduce a magnetic-based tactile sensing module that provides high-precision three-dimensional force measurements. We eliminate geomagnetic interference through a reference Hall sensor and simplify the calibration process compared to previous work. The proposed framework enables precise force-aware grasping control, allowing safe manipulation of fragile objects and real-time weight measurement of grasped items. The system is validated through comprehensive real-world experiments, including balloon grasping, dynamic load variation tests, and ablation studies, demonstrating its effectiveness in various aerial manipulation scenarios. Our approach achieves fully onboard operation without external motion capture systems, significantly enhancing the practicality of force-sensitive aerial manipulation. The supplementary video is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbcZkrJEf1I.