In this work, we present Tilt-Ropter, a novel hybrid aerial-terrestrial vehicle (HATV) that combines tilt rotors with passive wheels to achieve energy-efficient multi-mode locomotion. Unlike existing under-actuated HATVs, the fully actuated design of Tilt-Ropter enables decoupled force and torque control, greatly enhancing its mobility and environmental adaptability. A nonlinear model predictive controller (NMPC) is developed to track reference trajectories and handle contact constraints across locomotion modes, while a dedicated control allocation module exploits actuation redundancy to achieve energy-efficient control of actuators. Additionally, to enhance robustness during ground contact, we introduce an external wrench estimation algorithm that estimates environmental interaction forces and torques in real time. The system is validated through both simulation and real-world experiments, including seamless air-ground transitions and trajectory tracking. Results show low tracking errors in both modes and highlight a 92.8% reduction in power consumption during ground locomotion, demonstrating the system's potential for long-duration missions across large-scale and energy-constrained environments.

翻译：本文提出了一种名为Tilt-Ropter的新型空地混合载具，它结合了倾斜旋翼与被动轮，以实现节能的多模式运动。与现有的欠驱动空地混合载具不同，Tilt-Ropter的全驱动设计实现了力与力矩的解耦控制，极大地增强了其机动性与环境适应性。我们开发了一种非线性模型预测控制器来跟踪参考轨迹并处理不同运动模式下的接触约束，同时通过一个专门的控制分配模块利用驱动冗余来实现执行器的节能控制。此外，为增强地面接触期间的鲁棒性，我们引入了一种外部力矩估计算法，用于实时估计环境交互力与力矩。该系统通过仿真和真实世界实验进行了验证，包括无缝的空地转换与轨迹跟踪。结果显示，两种模式下均具有较低的跟踪误差，并突出表明地面运动期间的功耗降低了92.8%，这证明了该系统在大型及能源受限环境中执行长时任务的潜力。