Singletary, Andrew and Swann, Aiden and Chen, Yuxiao and Ames, Aaron D. (2022) Onboard Safety Guarantees for Racing Drones: High-Speed Geofencing With Control Barrier Functions. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 7 (2). pp. 2897-2904. ISSN 2377-3766. doi:10.1109/LRA.2022.3144777. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20220224-200854184
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Abstract
This letter details the theory and implementation behind practically ensuring safety of remotely piloted racing drones. We demonstrate robust and practical safety guarantees on a 7” racing drone at speeds exceeding 100 km/h, utilizing only online computations on a 10 g micro-controller. To achieve this goal, we utilize the framework of control barrier functions (CBFs) which give guaranteed safety encoded as forward set invariance. To make this methodology practically applicable, we present an implicitly defined CBF which leverages backup controllers to enable gradient-free evaluations that ensure safety. The method applied to hardware results in smooth, minimally conservative alterations of the pilots’ desired inputs, enabling them to push the limits of their drone without fear of crashing. Moreover, the method works in conjunction with the preexisting flight controller, resulting in unaltered flight when there are no nearby safety risks. Additional benefits include safety and stability of the drone when losing line-of-sight or in the event of radio failure.
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| Additional Information: | © 2022 IEEE. Manuscript received September 9, 2021; accepted December 27, 2021. Date of publication January 25, 2022; date of current version February 2, 2022. This letter was recommended for publication by Editor Jun Zhang upon evaluation of the Associate Editor and reviewers’ comments. This work was supported by in part by AeroVironment and in part by NSF CPS under Award #1932091. | |||||||||
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| Subject Keywords: | Robot safety, aerial systems: mechanics and control | |||||||||
| Issue or Number: | 2 | |||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1109/LRA.2022.3144777 | |||||||||
| Record Number: | CaltechAUTHORS:20220224-200854184 | |||||||||
| Persistent URL: | https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20220224-200854184 | |||||||||
| Official Citation: | A. Singletary, A. Swann, Y. Chen and A. D. Ames, "Onboard Safety Guarantees for Racing Drones: High-Speed Geofencing With Control Barrier Functions," in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 2897-2904, April 2022, doi: 10.1109/LRA.2022.3144777 | |||||||||
| Usage Policy: | No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided. | |||||||||
| ID Code: | 113592 | |||||||||
| Collection: | CaltechAUTHORS | |||||||||
| Deposited By: | George Porter | |||||||||
| Deposited On: | 28 Feb 2022 17:35 | |||||||||
| Last Modified: | 14 Apr 2022 19:18 |
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