ARCAS

The Aerial Robotics Cooperative Assembly System (ARCAS) is a EU funded robotics project that develops autonomous flying robots to perform tasks too dangerous or otherwise difficult for human workers.

The ARCAS project is the first of its kind, and will establish a new way aerial robots can be used. When completed, it will be the first cooperative autonomously flying robot system to be used to build and disassemble constructions.

ARCAS is the result of an interdisciplinary effort to provide a scientific foundation for perception, planning and control of flying robots better known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's). In particular, ARCAS will produce a framework for the design and development of cooperating UAV's for assembly operations.

Objectives

The stated objectives of the ARCAS project are to establish the following:

• New methods for motion control of a free-flying robot with mounted manipulator in contact with a grasped object, as well as for coordinated control of multiple cooperating flying robots with manipulators in contact with the same object 
• New flying robot perception methods to model, identify and recognize the scenario and assist with assembly operation, including fast generation of 3D models, aerial 3D SLAM, 3D tracking and cooperative perception
• New methods for the cooperative assembly planning and structure construction by means of multiple flying robots
• Strategies for operator assistance, including visual and force feedback, in manipulation tasks involving multiple cooperating flying robots

The ARCAS uses a system of multiple UAV's equipped with a robotic arm that can manipulate objects without the help of a remote human controller. The UAV's are able to fly autonomously, are programmed with 3D maps to find its bearings and are equipped with sensors to adapt to rapid changing situations.

Testing

So far, 10 prototypes have been tested indoors at CATEC, the Advanced Aerospace Technologies Centre in Seville, Spain. The ARCAS has been tested outdoors at DLR, the German national aerospace research center, near Munich. These outdoor tests demonstrated the ARCAS’s ability to grab a bar and transport it without any outside control. 

Possible applications:

• Building of platforms for the evacuation of people in rescue operations
• Installation of platforms in uneven terrains for landing of manned and unmanned VTOL aircrafts
• Cooperative inspection and maintenance of facilities
• Construction of structures in inaccessible sites
• Completing tasks in environments dangerous for human workers, such as in nuclear accidents and in space
• Inspecting and maintaining oil and gas pipelines or electricity networks
• Building tall structures
• Hazardous accident cleanup
• Dismantling satellites, Servicing space stations, and removing space junk

Funding

The ARCAS project involves eight partners from five countries and is funded by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme. The project started in 2011 and will finish in November 2015.