# Aerial Robot Control in Close Proximity to Ceiling: A Force Estimation-based Nonlinear MPC

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1907.13594 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.13594/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 31 Jul 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Custom Non-Linear Model Predictive Control for Obstacle Avoidance in Indoor and Outdoor Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.02732/) (2024)
- [Learning Agile Tensile Perching for Aerial Robots from Demonstrations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.06172/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Being motivated by ceiling inspection applications via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) which require close proximity flight to surfaces, a systematic control approach enabling safe and accurate close proximity flight is proposed in this work. There are two main challenges for close proximity flights: (i) the trust characteristics varies drastically for the different distance from the ceiling which results in a complex nonlinear dynamics; (ii) the system needs to consider physical and environmental constraints to safely fly in close proximity. To address these challenges, a novel framework consisting of a constrained optimization-based force estimation and an optimization-based nonlinear controller is proposed. Experimental results illustrate that the performance of the proposed control approach can stabilize UAV down to 1 cm distance to the ceiling. Furthermore, we report that the UAV consumes up to 12.5% less power when it is operated 1 cm distance to ceiling, which is promising potential for more battery-efficient inspection flights.