Downwash-aware Configuration Optimization for Modular Aerial Systems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a framework for optimizing configurations of modular aerial systems by considering downwash effects, using topology enumeration and nonlinear programming, validated through simulations and real-world tests.

Contribution

It presents a novel method that explicitly accounts for downwash constraints in configuration optimization, improving safety and performance over prior planar layout approaches.

Findings

Framework effectively enforces downwash constraints.

Optimized configurations reduce control effort.

Validated in simulation and real-world experiments.

Abstract

This work proposes a framework that generates and optimally selects task-specific assembly configurations for a large group of homogeneous modular aerial systems, explicitly enforcing bounds on inter-module downwash. Prior work largely focuses on planar layouts and often ignores aerodynamic interference. In contrast, firstly we enumerate non-isomorphic connection topologies at scale; secondly, we solve a nonlinear program to check feasibility and select the configuration that minimizes control input subject to actuation limits and downwash constraints. We evaluate the framework in physics-based simulation and demonstrate it in real-world experiments.