Dynamics and control of a novel manipulator on VTOL aircraft (MOVA) system - A planar case study

An innovative type of mobile manipulator, designated Manipulator on VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) Aircraft (MOVA), is proposed as a potential candidate for autonomous execution of field work in less-structured environments. A planar MOVA system design is presented as the first step toward a fully functioning 3D system. The design has the minimum number of joints for the end-effector to achieve trajectory tracking. Dynamics equations of this planar MOVA system are derived using the Euler-Lagrangian approach and then transformed into decoupled translational and rotational dynamics using the virtual manipulator method. The backstepping technique is adopted for controller design due to the underactuated translational dynamics and a feedback linearization controller is used to control the onboard manipulator dynamics. A stability analysis is performed on the unified controller with GUUB tracking performance proven.