Flying between obstacles with an autonomous knife-edge maneuver

• Main Author: Barry, Andrew J. (Andrew James)
• Other Authors: Russ Tedrake.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2013
• Subjects: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78535

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2012. === Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. === Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-58). === We develop an aircraft and control system that is capable of repeatedly performing a high speed (7m/s or 16 MPH) "knife-edge" maneuver through a gap that is smaller than the aircraft's wingspan. The maneuver consists of flying towards a gap, rolling to a significant angle, accurately navigating between the obstacles, and rolling back to horizontal. The speed and roll-rate required demand a control system capable of highly precise, repeatable maneuvers. We address the necessary control theory, path planning, and hardware requirements for such a maneuver, and give a proposal for a new system that may improve upon the existing techniques. === by Andrew J. Barry. === S.M.