Bidirectional-thruster multirotor for perimeter pipe inspections (BiMPPI): A nonlinear optimal integral-SDRE design.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Aerospace Engineering
• Control Systems

Background:

• Pipeline inspection is crucial for infrastructure maintenance.
• Current inspection methods face limitations in maneuverability and accessibility.
• Multirotor drones offer potential but require advanced control for complex maneuvers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel bidirectional-thruster multirotor for perimeter pipeline inspection (BiMPPI).
• To enable stable pipe landing, rotation, and contact-based maneuvering.
• To evaluate the performance of an integral state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) controller for rotational movements.

Main Methods:

• Design and implementation of a bidirectional-thruster multirotor system.
• Development of an integral state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) controller for pipe rotation.
• Comparative analysis through simulations between integral SDRE and servo-SDRE controllers.
• Experimental validation of the BiMPPI platform in indoor flight tests.

Main Results:

• The BiMPPI platform successfully demonstrated the ability to land on and rotate around a pipe.
• The integral SDRE controller showed comparable performance to the servo-SDRE controller in simulations, simplifying implementation.
• Experimental results confirmed superior rotational performance of BiMPPI compared to SDRE and PID controllers.

Conclusions:

• The developed BiMPPI system offers a novel solution for enhanced pipeline inspection.
• The integral SDRE controller provides an effective and computationally efficient control strategy for pipe-based maneuvers.
• The experimental validation confirms the practical viability and performance advantages of the BiMPPI platform.