PAPER P19 · 2019
A Truly-Redundant Aerial Manipulator System With Application to Push-and-Slide Inspection in Industrial Plants
Tognon, M., Tello Chávez, H. A., Gasparin, E., Sablé, Q., Bicego, D., Mallet, A., Lany, M., Santi, G., Revaz, B., Cortés, J., Franchi, A. — IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters 4(2):1846-1851
Abstract read Citations: openalex: 197 (2026-10-22)
Develops an aerial manipulator for autonomous non-destructive testing in industrial plants that keeps a probe pressed on a curved surface while sliding it. A multidirectional-thrust vehicle is combined with a lightweight 2-DoF arm, with a PID-based controller that stays stable despite arm elasticity and a task-constrained, control-aware motion planner. In experiments it scanned a metal pipe with an eddy-current probe in continuous contact and detected and mapped a weld.
Key findings
- Multidirectional-thrust platform plus 2-DoF arm forms a 'truly redundant' aerial manipulator
- Probe kept in contact while sliding over a curved metal pipe
- Weld on the pipe detected and mapped from eddy-current measurements
Limitations
- Abstract only reviewed (HAL full text blocked by bot protection)
- Single pipe experiment; no quantitative NDT accuracy reported in the abstract