Adaptive Cable-Based Box Transport with Catenary Robots

UNM Students: Gustavo A. Cardona, Diego S. D’Antonio

Senior Contributors: Dr. Rafael Fierro (UNM), David Saldaña, Claus Danielson

This project introduced a novel cooperative aerial manipulation strategy using two “catenary robots”—each formed by two quadrotors linked by a cable. Rather than attaching cables to a payload, the robots wrap cables around a box and pull it using friction. An adaptive controller compensates for unknown object parameters (mass, inertia, and contact points), enabling autonomous transport of cuboid payloads without human setup. This method provides a flexible, low-intervention solution for package delivery and urban drone logistics.

Papers:
[1] G. A. Cardona, D. S. D’Antonio, R. Fierro and D. Saldaña, “Adaptive Control for Cooperative Aerial Transportation Using Catenary Robots,” 2021 Aerial Robotic Systems Physically Interacting with the Environment (AIRPHARO), Biograd na Moru, Croatia, 2021, pp. 1-8, doi: 10.1109/AIRPHARO52252.2021.9571068. keywords: {Adaptation models;Tensors;Shape;Friction;Transportation;Trajectory;Adaptive control},