Communication-based leashing of real flying robots

Aerial robots are often required to remain within the communication range of a base station on the ground to exchange commands, sensor data or as a safety mechanism. For this purpose, we propose a minimal control strategy for steering flying robots using only communication hardware (e.g. WiFi module or radio modem) instead of GPS or cameras. To avoid being dependent on the specifics of the communication hardware or its driver, we propose to measure the number of messages the robot receives from the base as a control input. Leashing is then performed by having the robot react to low message rates by moving towards the base in order to improve the communication. Results show both in theory and reality that this strategy can leash the robot to the base in scenarios with limited wind or base mobility.