Contact-Aware Incremental Model Predictive Control for an Underactuated Aerial Manipulator

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11661v1
• Date: Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:03:02 GMT
• Title: Contact-Aware Incremental Model Predictive Control for an Underactuated Aerial Manipulator
• Abstract summary: We present a robust contact-aware control framework for aerial writing on an underactuated platform.<n>The proposed controllers are validated on a quadrotor-based aerial manipulator with a rigid, single-link, one-degree-of-freedom (DoF) arm.
• Score: 0.9328991021103293
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Abstract: We present a robust contact-aware control framework for aerial writing on an underactuated platform. The framework combines nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) for accurate end-effector position and normal-force tracking at small reference penetration depths, with consistent performance across controller tunings, with whole-body incremental nonlinear dynamic inversion (INDI) for robustness to frictional and aerodynamic disturbances during contact. The proposed controllers are validated on a quadrotor-based aerial manipulator with a rigid, single-link, one-degree-of-freedom (DoF) arm in simulation and real-world experiments. The aerial writing experiments span vertical and inclined surfaces, multiple reference forces, different friction conditions, and wind disturbances. The results demonstrate that robust simultaneous five-DoF end-effector pose and contact-force tracking is achievable on a standard underactuated quadrotor with a simple, rigid, single-link arm, without requiring a fully actuated platform, a complex arm, or dedicated force/torque sensing.

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