SailMAV: Design and Implementation of a Novel Multi-Modal Flying Sailing Robot

Abstract

Despite significant research progress on smallscale aerial-aquatic robots, most existing prototypes are still constrained by short operation times and limited performance in different fluids. The main challenge is to design a vehicle that satisfies the partially conflicting design requirements for aerial and aquatic operation. In this paper we present a new class of aerial-aquatic robot, the Sailing Micro Air Vehicle, 'SailMAV'. Thanks to a three-part folding wing design, the SailMAV is capable of both flying and sailing. The robot design permits long and targeted missions at the water interface by leveraging the wind as movement vector. It simultaneously offers the flexibility of flight for rapidly reaching a designated area, overcoming obstacles and moving from one body of water to another, which can be very useful for water sampling in areas with many obstacles. With a total wingspan of 0.96 m, the SailMAV employs the same wing and actuation surfaces for sailing as for flying. It is capable of water surface locomotion as well as takeoff and flight at a cruising speed of 10.8 ms −1. The main contributions of this paper are (i) new solutions to the challenges of combined aerial and aquatic locomotion, (ii) the design of a novel hybrid concept, (iii) the development of the required control laws, and (iv) the demonstration of the vehicle successfully sailing and taking off from the water. The presented work can inform the design of hybrid vehicles that adapt their morphology to move effectively.

MHYRO: Modular HYbrid RObot for contact inspection and maintenance in oil & gas plants

“…Those requirements impose opposite constraints, which should be balanced in an effective way to obtain a lightweight and small inspection-ready aerial platform. As it was stated in the design of other hybrid platforms [21], a key factor in the development of these systems is the reduction of complexity. Moreover, in this case, it is proposed to include the modularity concept to address each use case interchanging the landing gear, which will be specifically designed for each inspection scenario.…”

“…Robots that combine different mobility systems have been designed to work in complex environments. These include aerial robots that are able to perch on walls and cables [16][17] [18] [19], prototypes that fly and roll over ground [20], and also robots that fly and sail on water [21] or can fly and dig underwater [22]. However, most of these prototypes have been built for multimodal mobility demonstration and have not been designed to perform work in industrial plants.…”

Challenges in Control and Autonomy of Unmanned Aerial-Aquatic Vehicles

“…[fixed-wing or multirotor landing on water, e.g. SailMAV by Zufferey et al [12]]. This profile suits long (in range and in duration) survey missions, like sea-bed mapping, or shore monitoring.…”

“…IV). In the SailMAV sailing-flying robot [12], for example, roll control in flight needs to be handled by rotating the full wings, as this type of actuation is required for sailing. The aforementioned robot is also an example of a UAAV involving unusual modes of locomotion (in this case sailing), which requires additional control and sensing components.…”

MEDUSA: A Multi-Environment Dual-Robot for Underwater Sample Acquisition

“…Fixed-wing vehicles [5], [6], [7], [2], [8], [9], [10] have the advantage of fast deployment and longer flight ranges, but both air-water transitioning and underwater locomotion are challenging to achieve. Traditional fixed-wing take-off and landing on water requires relatively extensive areas of calm water, which are not always available.…”