Muscle Coactivation in the Sky: Geometry and Pareto Optimality of Energy vs. Aerodynamic Promptness and Multirotors as Variable Stiffness Actuators

TL;DR

This paper introduces a geometric multi-objective optimization framework for multirotor drones, balancing energy efficiency and aerodynamic promptness, and draws parallels with biological muscle coactivation.

Contribution

It formalizes the trade-off between energy and promptness using fiber geometry, and links aerodynamic co-contraction to variable stiffness actuators.

Findings

Cooperative actuation yields bounded Pareto fronts.

Antagonistic actuation enables promptness at endurance cost.

Framework enables geometry-aware Pareto navigation for drone control.

Abstract

In robotics and biomechanics, trading metabolic cost for kinematic readiness is a well-established principle. This paper formalizes this concept for aerial multirotors through the introduction of aerodynamic promptness -- a dynamic metric analogous to dynamic manipulability in robotics. By formulating redundancy resolution as a geometric multi-objective optimization along task fibers, we rigorously characterize the topological trade-off between energy consumption and promptness. We demonstrate that this interplay is fundamentally governed by fiber geometry. Cooperative actuation regime yields compact fibers with bounded, compatible Pareto fronts. Conversely, antagonistic actuation regime unlocks unbounded fibers, enabling aerodynamic co-contraction that drives promptness to hardware limits at the expense of flight endurance. We establish a structural isomorphism between aerodynamic co-contraction and biologically inspired variable stiffness actuators, introducing a dynamic ``flying muscle'' paradigm. Ultimately, this framework transitions multirotor allocation from heuristic energy minimization to principled, geometry-aware Pareto navigation, laying foundational theory for the design and control of highly agile aerial platforms.