Energy Management for Indoor Hovering Robots

Flying has an advantage when compared to ground based locomotion, as it simplifies the task of overcoming obstacles and allows for rapid coverage of an area while also providing a birds-eye-view of the environment. One of the key challenges that has prevented engineers from coming up with convincing aerial solutions for indoor exploration is the energetic cost of flying. This paper presents a way of mitigating the energy problem regarding aerial exploration within indoor environments. This is achieved by means of a model to estimate the endurance of a hover-capable flying robot and by using ceiling attachment as a means of preserving energy while maintaining a birds-eye-view. The proposed model for endurance estimation has been extensively tested using a custom-developed quadrotor and autonomous ceiling attachment system.