Dynamics of a quadrotor undergoing impact with a wall

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Abstract
In this paper, we investigate the problem of the dynamics of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle undergoing impact with its environment. This work is motivated by the fact that operation of UAVs (manual or autonomous) carries with it a significant risk of collision with surrounding objects, particularly in unknown, unstructured environments. To make small UAVs more viable and expand their autonomy, our ultimate objective is to develop control methods which would allow automatic recovery from a `non-destructive' collision, where operation of the vehicle is not compromised. Towards this goal, we formulate the dynamics model of a quadrotor equipped with protective bumpers around its propellers, undergoing an arbitrary collision with a vertical wall: no prior assumptions are made regarding the points and number of impacts, nor the impact speed, nor the orientation of the vehicle at the instance of collision. The model is exercised through a series of simulations for different pre-impact attitudes of the platform and different approach speeds. Results of experimental tests conducted with Spiri quadrotor platform are presented. Comparison to the simulated responses mimicking the experimental pre-impact conditions and command inputs show excellent qualitative agreement.

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