Agile Robotic Fliers: A Morphing-Based Approach

Abstract

The aerial robot presented here for the first time was based on a quadrotor structure, which is capable of unique morphing performances based on an actuated elastic mechanism. Like birds, which are able to negotiate narrow apertures despite their relatively large wingspan, our Quad-Morphing robot was able to pass through a narrow gap at a high forward speed of 2.5 m.s− 1 by swiftly folding up the structure supporting its propellers. A control strategy was developed to deal with the loss of controllability on the roll axis resulting from the folding process, while keeping the robot stable until it has crossed the gap. In addition, a complete recovery procedure was also implemented to stabilize the robot after the unfolding process. A new metric was also used to quantify the gain in terms of the gap-crossing ability in comparison with that observed with classical quadrotors with rigid bodies. The performances of these morphing robots are presented, and experiments performed with a real flying robot passing through a small aperture by reducing its wingspan by 48% are described and discussed.

The current state and future outlook of rescue robotics

“…(b) PackDrone, a foldable drone with protective cage for in‐hand delivery of parcels (Kornatowski, Mintchev, & Floreano, ). (c) A drone able to negotiate narrow gaps by folding (Riviere, Manecy, & Viollet, ). (d) Multimodal flying and walking wing (Daler, Mintchev, Stefanini, & Floreano, ).…”

“…By incorporating foldable structures, a relatively large drone with sufficient payload and flight time can be stored and transported in a small volume, while providing safety for handling by operators, as well as collision tolerance in cluttered environments. Foldable frames are also investigated to reduce the size during flight and traverse narrow gaps and access remote locations (Riviere et al, ; Zhao et al, ; see Figure c).…”

Evaluation of a Baseline Controller for Autonomous “Figure-8” Flights of a Morphing Geometry Quadcopter: Flight Performance

“…Over the last few years there has been increasing interest in the development of multi-rotor UAS platforms with the ability to change their geometry in order to address similar problems. In a recent effort, the design of a morphing geometry quadcopter was explored, where the geometry of the quadcopter changes for short periods of time as and when traversing through a narrow opening i n controlled conditions [23]. In another application [24], a quadcopter was designed to actively change its attitude to a relatively high value and fly through a narrow gap or channel, while maintaining a high translation velocity.…”

The Foldable Drone: A Morphing Quadrotor That Can Squeeze and Fly

“…Pigeons have also been shown to choose different morphologies of their wings to negotiate gaps of different sizes: they fold the wings upward to negotiate relatively large vertical gaps, and fold them tight and close to their body in order to traverse narrower gaps [5]. In a similar way, a large drone could fold only when it has to fly in very cluttered environments [6]. In this way negotiation of narrow gaps can be achieved without miniaturizing the drone with consequent trade-offs in terms of flight time and payload.…”

“…Although these approaches facilitate the execution of complex trajectories and manipulation tasks, they do not entail significant shape change of the frame. Quadrotors with frames that morph during flight have been investigated by Zhao et al [11], [12], Desbiez et al [13], Riviere et al [6] and Zhao et al [14] in order to negotiate narrow gaps or grasp objects, each with their own advantages and tradeoffs (cf. Fig.…”