Towards multi-body multi-rotors for long reach manipulation

We design a novel multi-body Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to be used for long reach manipulation tasks. We consider the modeling and control of a multi-body multi-rotor system in which a horizontally actuated bi-rotor platform is suspended from a larger multi-rotor through a passive revolute joint. We provide dynamic modeling, feedback linearizing control through the use of flat outputs, and an extended high-gain observer (EHGO) based output feedback control design assuming that the system operates in a plane. Simulation results are provided to show the long reach manipulator platform tracking a trajectory. The methods are rigorously analyzed and stability of the closed-loop system under output feedback is proven.