Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Controller Structure for an Autonomous Robot based on a Fluid Jet Thruster actuation for the Inspection of Aircraft Fuel Tanks

Kurzfassung

This thesis presents a 6 DOF endoscopic robot design, specialized for visual inspection of aircraft’s kerosene tanks. The kinematic and dynamic models of the robot are introduced. Then, a position controller structure is developed and implemented using ROS. The endoscopic robot is tested in a water tank to simulate the fuel tank and way-points are set for the robot. The accuracy of the robot is evaluated by monitoring its real-time pose using a camera vision algorithm.