Partial Feedback Linearization Control of a Cable-Suspended Multirotor Platform for Stabilization of an Attached Load

2025-10-15

AI Summary

Stabilizing suspended loads carried by cable-suspended multi-rotor platforms in outdoor construction sites remains challenging due to wind disturbances, sensor noise, and model uncertainties. Method: This paper proposes a robust control strategy based on partial feedback linearization, fully exploiting the system’s coupled dynamics to achieve closed-loop control using only onboard sensors—without reliance on external positioning systems. Contribution/Results: By analytically characterizing the impact of coupling terms on stability and rigorously validating robustness via numerical stability analysis and hardware-in-the-loop experiments, the method demonstrates effective suppression of payload oscillations, significantly enhanced disturbance rejection, and improved model robustness. Both simulation and real-world flight tests confirm its feasibility and engineering reliability for aerial heavy-lift operations in complex, unstructured environments.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: State Estimation
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Planning
• Multiagent Systems: Multiagent Planning

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: LLM based quality controls for crowd work
• Graph Algorithms and Modeling for the Web: Efficient manipulation of static and dynamic Web-related graphs

Abstract

In this work, we present a novel control approach based on partial feedback linearization (PFL) for the stabilization of a suspended aerial platform with an attached load. Such systems are envisioned for various applications in construction sites involving cranes, such as the holding and transportation of heavy objects. Our proposed control approach considers the underactuation of the whole system while utilizing its coupled dynamics for stabilization. We demonstrate using numerical stability analysis that these coupled terms are crucial for the stabilization of the complete system. We also carried out robustness analysis of the proposed approach in the presence of external wind disturbances, sensor noise, and uncertainties in system dynamics. As our envisioned target application involves cranes in outdoor construction sites, our control approaches rely on only onboard sensors, thus making it suitable for such applications. We carried out extensive simulation studies and experimental tests to validate our proposed control approach.

Problem

• Stabilizing cable-suspended multirotor platforms with attached loads
• Developing control for underactuated aerial systems with coupled dynamics
• Robust stabilization against wind disturbances and sensor noise

Innovation

• Partial feedback linearization stabilizes suspended aerial platform
• Utilizes coupled dynamics for underactuated system stabilization
• Relies solely on onboard sensors for outdoor construction applications