The Yale Aerial Manipulator: Grasping in flight

Abstract

This video demonstrates a helicopter Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) research platform for grasping objects while in flight. Typically, helicopters avoid interacting with objects in their surroundings due to the unstable flight dynamics of rotorcraft and coupled mechanics encountered during contact. We introduce the Yale Aerial Manipulator and demonstrate stable grasping of a range of objects both when landed and while hovering. We discuss the platform's underactuated gripper and its contribution to aircraft stability while grasping.