Micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs) face limited flight times, which adversely impacts their efficacy for scenarios such as first response and disaster recovery, where it might be useful to deploy persistent radio relays and quadrotors for monitoring or sampling. Thus, it is important to enable micro-aerial vehicles to land and perch on different surfaces to save energy by cutting power to motors. We are motivated to use a downward-facing gripper for perching, as opposed to a side-mounted gripper, since it could also be used to carry payloads. In this paper, we predict and verify the performance of a custom gripper designed for perching on smooth surfaces. We also present control and planning algorithms, enabling an underactuated quadrotor with a downward-facing gripper to perch on inclined surfaces while satisfying constraints on actuation and sensing. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed techniques through successful perching on a glass surface at various inclinations, including vertical.
Combined jumping and gliding locomotion, or 'jumpgliding', can be an efficient way for small robots or animals to travel over cluttered terrain. This paper presents functional requirements and models for a simple jumpglider which formalize the benefits and limitations of using aerodynamic surfaces to augment jumping ability. Analysis of the model gives insight into design choices and control strategies for higher performance and to accommodate special conditions such as a slippery launching surface. The model informs the design of a robotic platform that can perform repeated jumps using a carbon fiber spring and a pivoting wing. Experiments with two different versions of the platform agree with predictions from the model and demonstrate a significantly greater range, and lower cost-of-transport, than a comparable ballistic jumper.
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