@conference {2018g-BicStaSabAreMisFra, title = {Towards a Flying Assistant Paradigm: the OTHex}, booktitle = {2018 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation}, year = {2018}, month = {05/2018}, pages = {6997-7002}, address = {Brisbane, Australia}, abstract = {This paper presents the OTHex platform for aerial manipulation developed at LAAS{\textendash}CNRS. The OTHex is probably the first multi-directional thrust platform designed to act as Flying Assistant which can aid human operators and/or Ground Manipulators to move long bars for assembly and maintenance tasks. The work emphasis is on task-driven custom design and experimental validations. The proposed control framework is built around a low-level geometric controller, and includes an external wrench estimator, an admittance filter, and a trajectory generator. This tool gives the system the necessary compliance to resist external force disturbances arising from contact with the surrounding environment or to parameter uncertainties in the load. A set of experiments validates the real-world applicability and robustness of the overall system.}, attachments = {https://homepages.laas.fr/afranchi/robotics/sites/default/files/2018g-BicStaSabAreMisFra-preprint.pdf , https://homepages.laas.fr/afranchi/robotics/sites/default/files/2018g-BicStaSabAreMisFra.mp4}, author = {Nicolas Staub and Davide Bicego and Quentin Sabl{\'e} and Victor Arellano-Quintana and Subodh Mishra and Antonio Franchi} }