Hi and

welcome to the Supplementary Materials for the Aerial Robotics course

of robotics specialization. This series of videos will introduce
you to topics in mathematics, dynamics and controls that we'll
use throughout this course. First, I wanna briefly introduce myself. My name is
Sarah Tang and I'm a PhD
student at the University of Pennsylvania. My research interests are in
developing motion planning algorithms that will allow autonomous robots to
perform tasks in cluttered environments. Specifically, I'm interested
in three types of problems. First, I'm interested in
developing algorithm for a specific class of system
called hybrid dynamical systems. These are systems that have multiple modes
of operation, each with their own sets of dynamics and discrete events trigger
transitions between these different modes. The challenge in planning for
these systems is in planning not only the behavior of a system within a specific
mode, but also in planning when and how the system will transition. An example o
f this type of system is a
quadrotor with a cable suspended payload. In this case, pick-ups and releases of
the payload are the discreet events that trigger transitions between the with an
d
without payload modes. In our lab, we've equipped a quad
rotor with an electromagnet, allowing it to pick up magnetic payloads
and our algorithm is able to generate trajectories that pick-up objects and
release them to drop at desired locations. Second, I'm interested in planning fo
r
higher order under actuated systems. These systems have many
degrees of freedom, but cannot directly control all these degrees
of freedom to arbitrary configurations. Again, a quadrotor with a cable suspende
d
payload is an example of this type of system. Both the quadrotor and the payload
can rotate and translate in 3D space. However, they cannot
do this independently. In fact, the trajectory of the payload
determines a required configuration for the quadrotor. Our goal is to plan aggre
ssive motions for
the system. For example, suppose the quadrotor comes
across a window obstacle where the height of the window is smaller than
the length of the cable. Our algorithm can generate a trajectory
that contains that necessary swing to bring both the quadrotor and
the payload through this narrow gap. Finally, I'm interested in
the multi-robot planning problem. In this problem, we are given a two
more robots at sets start positions. These robots must navigate
to a set of goal locations. However, the goal that each robot must
navigate to is specified beforehand and cannot be changed. The goal of this prob
lem is to generate
trajectories that will bring each robot to its goal while avoiding
collisions with each other. Throughout this course,
I'll be delivering supplementary videos. These videos will serve three purposes.
First, we hope to provide you with some
technical background on concepts used throughout the course. Second, we'll work
through some example
problems that will help you with the quizzes and the exercises. And finally, the
re will be MATLAB
demonstrations that will help you as you work through your programming assignmen
ts. I'm glad to see that you're
taking this course and I look forward to working with you.