Impedance Control of a Bio-inspired Flying and Adhesion Robot

Endurance is a critical problem that most flying robots will definitely encounter. Inspired by flying animals in nature that take frequent short flights with periods of perching in between, we propose an innovative mechanism with flying and adhesion to solve this problem. Previously, we have developed some prototypes of flying and adhesion robots. However, when the robots switch between flying and adhesion, it is difficult to control the contact force; moreover, the robots could be damaged because of the abnormal contact with the environment. Therefore, we propose an impedance control approach for bio-inspired flying and adhesion robots to have smooth contact with the environment. The dynamic model of a bio-inspired robot is described, and the proposed impedance control method is applied to regulate the contact force with the environment. The bio-inspired flying and adhesion robot performs several phases of desired missions in the sequential manner. Firstly, the robot performs position control to approach the desired perch position. Secondly, the robot contacts with the environment and regulate the contact force. Both simulation and experiments were performed to validate the proposed method. The results verified the feasibility of the proposed control methods in controlling a bio-inspired flying and adhesion robot.