Aerial robots are well-established technologies in environments characterized by reliable GNSS signals and favorable conditions for navigation based on cameras or LiDARs. However, their robustness is significantly challenged whenever ambient lighting is insufficient, GNSS signals are blocked, and range measurements are corrupted, for example, in underground, dark, or foggy environments. There, conventional navigation methods solely based on computer vision are very limited. This work proposes a completely novel approach to Aerial Tactile Odometry for pose estimation of aerial robots exploiting contact to precisely determine the system’s pose. By employing a compliant end-effector design with onboard tactile information by means of a trackball, we infer the complete UAV’s pose with respect to the environment, and the path traveled during contact. Through a large set of experiments, the proposed method shows centimeter-level accuracy for various relative orientations between the environment and the robot as well as for different trajectories. Akin to conventional dead-reckoning odometry methods in wheeled robotics, this method provides a valuable additional source of pose estimation, increasing the robustness of aerial robots – especially aerial manipulators – in the real world.

Space robotics applications, such as Active Space Debris Removal (ASDR), require representative testing before launch. A commonly used approach to emulate the microgravity environment in space is air-bearing based platforms on flat-floors, such as the European Space Agency's Orbital Robotics and GNC Lab (ORGL). This work proposes a control architecture for a floating platform at the ORGL, equipped with eight solenoid-valve-based thrusters and one reaction wheel. The control architecture consists of two main components: a trajectory planner that finds optimal trajectories connecting two states and a trajectory follower that follows any physically feasible trajectory. The controller is first evaluated within an introduced simulation, achieving a 100% success rate at finding and following trajectories to the origin within a Monte-Carlo test. Individual trajectories are also successfully followed by the physical system. In this work, we showcase the ability of the controller to reject disturbances and follow a straight-line trajectory within tens of centimeters.

A spherical robotic probe has several advantages in rough environments and has therefore raised interest for application in planetary exploration. A sphere is well-suited to protect high-sensitive payloads, however, the locomotion system for planetary surfaces raises several challenges. This paper presents a novel locomotion system consisting of linear actuators which are usable in a multi-functional fashion. Apart from pushing and bringing leverage for locomotion the extendable rods enable a tripod mode for improved sensing. The developed solutions offer a mathematical-physical system description, simple algorithms for the control of locomotion and balancing as well as general calculations for determining the maximum achievable performance parameters of such a robot. The first built prototype shows the basic suitability of the system and reveals directions for further research.