This article presents the system architecture and the orbital demonstration results of the Int-Ball2, a free-flying camera robot developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The purpose of the Int-Ball2 project is to assist astronauts and reduce their workload in the International Space Station (ISS). This robot is an upgrade from the first Int-Ball, enhancing … [Read more...] about Int-Ball2: On-Orbit Demonstration of Autonomous Intravehicular Flight and Docking for Image Capturing and Recharging
Autonomous aerial vehicles
Survey of Simulators for Aerial Robots: An Overview and In-Depth Systematic Comparisons [Survey]
Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) research faces challenges with safety, scalability, costs, and ecological impact when conducting hardware testing. High-fidelity simulators offer a vital solution by replicating real-world conditions to enable the development and evaluation of novel perception and control algorithms. However, the large number of available simulators poses a … [Read more...] about Survey of Simulators for Aerial Robots: An Overview and In-Depth Systematic Comparisons [Survey]
New Era in Cultural Heritage Preservation: Cooperative Aerial Autonomy for Fast Digitalization of Difficult-to-Access Interiors of Historical Monuments
Digital documentation of large interiors of historical buildings is an exhausting task as most of the areas of interest are beyond typical human reach. We advocate the use of fully autonomous teams of cooperating multirotor UAVs to speed up the documentation process by several orders of magnitude while allowing for a repeatable, accurate, and condition-independent solution … [Read more...] about New Era in Cultural Heritage Preservation: Cooperative Aerial Autonomy for Fast Digitalization of Difficult-to-Access Interiors of Historical Monuments
Fully Autonomous Brick Pick and Place in Fields by Articulated Aerial Robot: Results in Various Outdoor Environments
Picking and placing of objects by aerial robots in fields is an important and challenging task for a range of outdoor activities, including industry and rescue operations. General strategies depend on the magnetic force to the pick object; however, this approach lacks both generality and robustness. Therefore, we focus on an articulated structure to grasp bricking. Another … [Read more...] about Fully Autonomous Brick Pick and Place in Fields by Articulated Aerial Robot: Results in Various Outdoor Environments
An Aerial Manipulator for Robot-to-Robot Torch-Relay Task: System Design and Control Scheme
Torch relay is an important tradition of the Olympics and heralds the start of the games. Robots applied in the torch-relay activity can not only demonstrate the technological capability of humans to the world but also provide a sight of human lives with robots in the future. This article presents an aerial manipulator designed for the robot-to-robot torch-relay task of the … [Read more...] about An Aerial Manipulator for Robot-to-Robot Torch-Relay Task: System Design and Control Scheme
