Coaxial Modular Aerial System and the Reconfiguration Applications

This paper presents a coaxial modular aerial system (CMAS) formed by homogeneous modules driven by their center of mass. CMAS is designed to perform independent and cooperative flight with or without payload. Properties of the modularity concept allow the system to adapt to different situations and/or tasks by adding/removing modules to/from a configuration. The CMAS module is based on a coaxial motor and a two degree-of-freedom mechanism that transfers its center of mass from one side to another to make the module navigate around. The magnetic-based connector mechanism allows the module to be attached to other modules and to different metallic surfaces. A decentralized and asynchronous 3D path planning algorithm is implemented to avoid the trajectories of other modules/obstacles and ensures safe reconfiguration of the modules. Simulations within various environments show the applicability of the reconfiguration algorithm.