Controlled Landing on a Moving Platform

Overview

• A landing platform travels along a straight track while the drone holds station above, follows its motion, and executes a controlled descent onto it.
• The flight closes the full loop: track the target, match its motion, and time the touchdown, all on real hardware.

Design & Build

• Control: A Simulink flight control model deployed to the Mambo handles attitude and position while the landing logic manages the descent.
• Tracking: The drone follows the platform's motion along the track, keeping itself positioned above the target through the approach.
• Touchdown: Descent runs as a sequence of small altitude steps, each gated on the velocity error, so the drone never drops toward empty floor beside a moving target. After contact the motors ramp down gradually to prevent bounce.

Challenges

• Timing a descent onto a target that keeps moving beneath the drone.
• Holding lateral alignment with the platform during the drop.
• The Mambo's small control authority against air disturbance.

Result

• In simulation testing with tuned gains, the drone held position within roughly 5 cm of the moving platform.
• The deployed flight lands on the platform while it travels along its track, in a single continuous take.

Skills & Tools