This paper presents the integration of a Variable Stiffness Link (VSL) for long-reach aerial manipulation, enabling adaptable mechanical coupling between an aerial multirotor platform and a dual-arm manipulator. Conventional long-reach manipulation systems rely on rigid or cable connections, which limit precision or transmit disturbances to the aerial vehicle. The proposed VSL introduces an adjustable stiffness mechanism that allows the link to behave either as a flexible rope or as a rigid rod, depending on task requirements. The system is mounted on a quadrotor equipped with the LiCAS dual-arm manipulator and evaluated through teleoperated experiments, involving external disturbances and parcel transportation tasks. Results demonstrate that varying the link stiffness significantly modifies the dynamic interaction between the UAV and the payload. The flexible configuration attenuates external impacts and aerodynamic perturbations, while the rigid configuration improves positional accuracy during manipulation phases. These results confirm that VSL enhances versatility and safety, providing a controllable trade-off between compliance and precision. Future work will focus on autonomous stiffness regulation, multi-rope configurations, cooperative aerial manipulation and user studies to further assess its impact on teleoperated and semi-autonomous aerial tasks.

翻译：本文提出了一种用于长臂空中机械臂的可变刚度连杆集成方案，实现了飞行多旋翼平台与双臂机械臂之间的自适应机械耦合。传统的长臂操控系统依赖刚性或缆索连接，这限制了操作精度或将干扰传递至飞行器。所提出的可变刚度连杆引入了一种可调节刚度机制，使连杆能够根据任务需求表现为柔性绳索或刚性杆。该系统搭载于配备LiCAS双臂机械臂的四旋翼飞行器上，并通过遥操作实验进行评估，实验内容包括外部干扰和包裹运输任务。结果表明，改变连杆刚度能显著改变无人机与负载之间的动态交互作用。柔性构型可衰减外部冲击和空气动力扰动，而刚性构型则能提高操控阶段的定位精度。这些结果证实了可变刚度连杆增强了系统的多功能性与安全性，在柔顺性与精度之间提供了可控的权衡。未来工作将集中于自主刚度调节、多绳配置、协同空中操控以及用户研究，以进一步评估其对遥操作和半自主空中任务的影响。