Simulation of 5DOF Model for Arial Grasping

This study presents dynamic modeling and simulation of an air vehicle consisting of a body, gripper and a claw. This model is inspired from birds’ aerial hunting, while considering the extra degree of freedom associated with the claw. For a manipulator like a gripper, additional degree of freedom creates more flexibility for grasping. The main contribution of this paper focuses on the development of a model that is suitable for trajectory optimization in grasping phase. Mathematical representation of the system is developed based on the Newton-Euler approach in MATLAB-Simulink environment, considering the motion in vertical plane. The dynamic behavior of the system is evaluated by simulation in variety situations and sensitivity analysis is carried out to determine and characterize the parameters having the most and least effects on grasping. It is shown that the initial position of the gripper and the claw as well as the additional mass that is added to the system in grasping phase make considerable changes in the dynamics that necessitates the use of the control system. In addition, smooth trajectories and controls are obtained by adding friction to the system in order to avoid dynamic divergence.