Figure: Ground vehicle as an example of a target

Dynamics and Control Systems Laboratory

The Dynamics and Control Systems Laboratory (DCSL) aims to create different experimental setups to assess and validate the theoretical advancements of the research team.  DCSL is comprised of the following two main elements:

Equipment: Precision air bearing surface (installed by Precision Epoxy with poured epoxy surface plate for ground vehicles with adjustable attitude and robotic arms. This testbed uses custom 80/20 Aluminum framework for assembly of the desired platform layout.

Location: MicaPlex, room MP105

Objective: This testbed aims to validate theoretical developments of dynamics and control algorithms for constrained rigid-body vehicle with robotic and/or flexible arms addressing robustness and reconfigurability to suit different test scenarios.

Figure: RMAS constrained motion with uncertainty

Objective: The drone cage provides a safe setting for testing of the algorithms of this research using autonomous vehicles (aerial vehicles and ground vehicles) that are equipped with on-board wireless data acquisition, USB simulator dongles, advanced sensors, and local positioning systems. Candidate scenarios involving several stationary and mobile targets (ground robots or aerial vehicles) are considered and rigid-body multiagent system (RMAS) relative motion are studied considering real-world situations such as measurement noise. User-defined inequality constraint bounds will be used to determine the configuration and velocity deviations of the vehicle from an equality constraint around the target.

Moveable Testbed

Aerial Vehicles Experimental Setup

Equipment: A demountable, portable experimental environment (hereinafter referred to as the `drone cage'), made out of 204 one-meter PVC pipes, 102 one-square-meter nets, and several hooks (assembled by DCSL) is used for indoor and outdoor testing. The maximum size of this cage is 7mx3mx3m but it can also be dismantled and assembled into smaller spaces (as small as a 1m x1mx1m cubic space).

Location: Lehman building, room LB184

Figure: Schematics of moveable testbed table

DCSL Gallery