Navigation strategy in-flight retrieving and transportation operations for a rotorcraft MAV

The paper addresses a robust navigation strategy of a rotorcraft class having a simple robotic arm to perform rapid in-flight retrieving operations in presence of wind gusts and aerodynamic effects. The target-acquiring trajectory planner is based on a cosinusoidal dynamic pattern. The mathematical model is extended to account not only the dynamics of the robotic arm but also the aerodynamics. The navigation control scheme is based on a soft integral sliding-mode control (ISC) to stabilize both inner-and outer-loop dynamics regarding the rejection of not only the dynamic couplings but also aerodynamic disturbances. Detailed simulations including realistic aerodynamic effects results show the validity of the proposed navigation strategy while tracking the object-to-retrieve trajectory.