Tilt-X: Enabling Compliant Aerial Manipulation through a Tiltable-Extensible Continuum Manipulator

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Uthayasooriyan, Anuraj, Digumarti, Krishna Manaswi, Breward, Jack, Vanegas, Fernando, Galvez-Serna, Julian, Gonzalez, Felipe
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2026
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author Uthayasooriyan, Anuraj
Digumarti, Krishna Manaswi
Breward, Jack
Vanegas, Fernando
Galvez-Serna, Julian
Gonzalez, Felipe
author_facet Uthayasooriyan, Anuraj
Digumarti, Krishna Manaswi
Breward, Jack
Vanegas, Fernando
Galvez-Serna, Julian
Gonzalez, Felipe
contents Aerial manipulators extend the reach and manipulation capabilities of uncrewed multirotor aerial vehicles for inspection, agriculture, sampling, and delivery. Continuum arm aerial manipulation systems offer lightweight, dexterous, and compliant interaction opportunities. Existing designs allow manipulation only below the UAV which restricts their deployability in multiple directions and through clutter. They are also sensitive to propeller downwash. Addressing these limitations, we present Tilt-X, a continuum arm aerial manipulator that integrates a tilting mechanism, a telescopic stage, and a cable-driven continuum section. We present its design and kinematic model and validate it through flight demonstrations. Tilt-X enables a volumetric workspace with up to 75 mm extension and planar orientations between 0$^\circ$ to 90$^\circ$. Experiments comparing end effector pose with and without downwash quantitatively measure its accuracy, providing critical evidence to guide the design and control of reliable aerial manipulators. Results show stabilisation of end effector pose as the manipulator extends out of the propeller influence zone.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_23576
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Tilt-X: Enabling Compliant Aerial Manipulation through a Tiltable-Extensible Continuum Manipulator
Uthayasooriyan, Anuraj
Digumarti, Krishna Manaswi
Breward, Jack
Vanegas, Fernando
Galvez-Serna, Julian
Gonzalez, Felipe
Robotics
Aerial manipulators extend the reach and manipulation capabilities of uncrewed multirotor aerial vehicles for inspection, agriculture, sampling, and delivery. Continuum arm aerial manipulation systems offer lightweight, dexterous, and compliant interaction opportunities. Existing designs allow manipulation only below the UAV which restricts their deployability in multiple directions and through clutter. They are also sensitive to propeller downwash. Addressing these limitations, we present Tilt-X, a continuum arm aerial manipulator that integrates a tilting mechanism, a telescopic stage, and a cable-driven continuum section. We present its design and kinematic model and validate it through flight demonstrations. Tilt-X enables a volumetric workspace with up to 75 mm extension and planar orientations between 0$^\circ$ to 90$^\circ$. Experiments comparing end effector pose with and without downwash quantitatively measure its accuracy, providing critical evidence to guide the design and control of reliable aerial manipulators. Results show stabilisation of end effector pose as the manipulator extends out of the propeller influence zone.
title Tilt-X: Enabling Compliant Aerial Manipulation through a Tiltable-Extensible Continuum Manipulator
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.23576