A Soft Drone with Multi-modal Mobility for the Exploration of Confined Spaces
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Open access
Date
2021Type
- Conference Paper
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
In post-disaster scenarios, rescuers are often con- fronted with the challenge of accessing confined and cluttered environments including long and narrow passageways, gaps in walls or ceilings. Because of their mobility and versatility, there is a growing interest in developing drones for the remote exploration of these dangerous and often difficult to access places. However, the mechanical design and locomotion strategies of current drones limit the size of the confined space that can be explored. In this work, we present a quadcopter capable of traversing long passageways 34% smaller than its nominal size. The combination of a soft morphing frame and multi-modal mobility allows the drone to exploit a new dynamic strategy for passageway traversal. The drone flies at a given speed towards the entrance of the passageway until it collides with it. The momentum and ability of the frame to soften allow the drone to passively fold and enter. Once the drone is squeezed between the walls of the passageway, it uses two tracks to crawl through. Through experiments, we characterize the main mechanical systems of the drone and study the entry into crevices of different sizes. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000513113Publication status
publishedExternal links
Book title
2021 IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics (SSRR)Pages / Article No.
Publisher
IEEEEvent
Organisational unit
09718 - Mintchev, Stefano / Mintchev, Stefano
Funding
ETH-15 20-2 - SquAshy – Soft Aerial robots that squeeze and crawl to traverse confined spaces (ETHZ)
Notes
Conference presentation held on 26 October 2021More
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ETH Bibliography
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