Estimation and optimization of fully-actuated multirotor platform with nonparallel actuation mechanism

This paper presents a new numeric estimation for dynamic performance of fully-actuated UAV platforms with nonparallel actuation mechanisms. Multi-rotor UAV designs with tilted rotors can achieve fully-actuated performance (net thrust that spans the 6-DoF force-torque space) by tilting the rotors in both cant and dihedral. These orthogonal rotations have different implications on the intrinsic stability of the platform. A numeric estimation of the multi-rotor performances is proposed with an optimization approach to configure the nonparallel thrusters with respect to desired tasks. The new model is applied to Purdues Dexterous Hexrotor UAV and CyPhy Works LVL 1 platform, to illustrate the multi-rotor estimation and optimization. Estimation of these fully-actuated UAVs include precise physical interaction with the environment (Dexterous Hexrotor), hovering efficiency, and influence operating altitude. Experimental results are presented to validate the optimized result with a contact based force control task in preparation for a demo at the DOE Gaseous Diffusion Plant.