Tracking and Grasping of Moving Objects Using Aerial Robotic Manipulators: A Brief Survey

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) has evolved in recent years, their features have changed to be more useful to the society, although some years ago the drones had been thought to be teleoperated by humans and to take some pictures from above, which is useful; nevertheless, nowadays the drones are capable of developing autonomous tasks like tracking a dynamic target or even grasping different kind of objects. Some task like transporting heavy loads or manipulating complex shapes are more challenging for a single UAV, but for a fleet of them might be easier. This brief survey presents a compilation of relevant works related to tracking and grasping with aerial robotic manipulators, as well as cooperation among them. Moreover, challenges and limitations are presented in order to contribute with new areas of research. Finally, some trends in aerial manipulation are foreseeing for different sectors and relevant features for these kind of systems are standing out.