Abstract
The technological developments in the field of image based sensing have led to a vast growth in the use of drones in various domains. The drone is usually equipped with an image sensor (camera) which collect images over the target area. These images are then post-processed to extract the important information. Efficiency and accuracy of the image based sensing are largely dependent on the captured image quality. Therefore, it is important to prevent the transmission of the drone vibrations to the camera. Most of the current camera mounting systems use passive rubber mounts for isolation. However, these mounts are effective only in vertical direction and essentially adds damping to the system which degrades the performance of the isolation at high frequency. In this paper, a multi-degree of freedom isolation system, based on a Stewart platform configuration, is proposed for drone camera stabilization. The important features of the proposed isolation system are — (i) high frequency roll-off, (ii) no use of flexible joints, (iii) uses non-contact voice coil actuator thus avoiding spurious resonances of the legs, (iv) adjustable stiffness, (v) 3D printed lightweight parts and (vi) centralized control using a single sensor (inertial measurement unit). A prototype of the proposed system has been manufactured and validated experimentally. The proposed isolation system is found to reduce the response of the isolation system near resonance without compromising performance at high frequency. The application of the isolation system can be easily extended to other fields which require high quality image acquisition.
Highlights
The recent years have seen a vast growth in the use of image based sensing technologies using drones
We propose some design modifications to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional Stewart platform configuration
This section describes the changes made to the conventional Stewart platform configuration and highlights the motivation behind these changes. (i) Non-contact actuators: In most of the Stewart platform configurations, the payload and bottom platform are connected with the help of struts which results in spurious resonances at high frequencies
Summary
The recent years have seen a vast growth in the use of image based sensing technologies using drones. A new kind of passive system based on bio mimetic, inspired by avian, was proposed by [10] This type of isolation system is best suited for drones using a flapping mechanism. The proposed isolation system is based on a Stewart platform configuration. Premount et al [26] proposed a Stewart platform configuration using voice coil actuators and flexible joints. Zheng et al [27] proposed a passive Stewart platform configuration using negative stiffness magnetic springs. Wang et al [30] developed a Stewart platform using piezoelectric actuators for micro-vibration isolation. Yang et al [31] proposed an isolation system for space precision system They developed the control strategy to compensate for the parasitic stiffness induced due to flexible joints.
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