  This paper presents an aerial platform capable of performing physically
interactive tasks in unstructured environments with human-like dexterity under
human supervision. This aerial platform consists of a humanoid torso attached
to a hexacopter. A two-degree-of-freedom head and two five-degree-of-freedom
arms equipped with softhands provide the requisite dexterity to allow human
operators to carry out various tasks. A robust tendon-driven structure is
purposefully designed for the arms, considerably reducing the impact of arm
inertia on the floating base in motion. In addition, tendons provide
flexibility to the joints, which enhances the robustness of the arm preventing
damage in interaction with the environment. To increase the payload of the
aerial system and the battery life, we use the concept of Suspended Aerial
Manipulation, i.e., the flying humanoid can be connected with a tether to a
structure, e.g., a larger airborne carrier or a supporting crane. Importantly,
to maximize portability and applicability, we adopt a modular approach
exploiting commercial components for the aerial base hardware and autopilot,
while developing an outer stabilizing control loop to maintain the attitude,
compensating for the tether force and for the humanoid head and arm motions.
The humanoid can be controlled by a remote operator, thus effectively realizing
a Suspended Aerial Manipulation Avatar. The proposed system is validated
through experiments in indoor scenarios reproducing post-disaster tasks.
