Rolling Strategy and Motion Controller Design for an Aerial Vehicle Surrounded by a Six-Bar Tensegrity Structure

The integrated tensegrity aerial vehicle has the ability to fly in the air and roll on the ground with collision resistance property, which can absorb part of the impact force at high speed. To achieve tractable performance, we first present a single-step rolling strategy using the genetic algorithm (GA). Based on the rolling strategy, a controller is further designed for the vehicle to roll continuously towards the specified target point on the ground. Simulation results in Simscape demonstrate the effectiveness of the single-step rolling strategy and the feasibility of the continuous rolling controller.