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This book provides a solid foundation to the exciting world of aerial autonomy, with a focus on their rigid-body dynamics, sensing and state estimation, and low-level stabilization. It discusses low-speed, propeller-driven flight typical of Uncrewed Aerial Systems. A tensor approach to 3D modelling allows for a very general modelling approach, which is then also translated into easy-to-use equations (e.g., for coding a state estimator). Stability theory and simple control approaches are developed from first principles, and again applied to, and illustrated with, examples in flight. Concepts central to the practising aerospace engineer, such as rotation formalisms (rotation matrix, quaternions) and the dynamics of rotation are treated in depth. The book is aimed at those interested in aerial autonomy or robotics and requires only fundamental mathematical background in linear algebra and differential equations. Problems are provided throughout the text to evaluate knowledge.
List of contents
Fundamentals of flight.- Three-dimensional geometry.- Kinematics.- Dynamics of rigid bodies.- Sensing and estimation.- Quadcopter dynamics.- Control and stabilization.- Advanced topics.
About the author
Mark Wilfried Mueller is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He was born in South Africa, and received his Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Pretoria. After a brief period in industry, he went to Switzerland where he received his Master (and then Doctorate) of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the ETH Zurich. After another brief period in industry, he started as a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley. His research at Berkeley focuses on the design and control of aerial robotics. He is especially interested in the intersections of controls, dynamics, and design. He may also be found teaching courses about this topic, and on the control of uncertain systems. He holds several patents related to his research, and serves or served on the editorial board for multiple journals and conferences.
