The new quadcopter with an inflatable body can withstand impacts and operate under rubble. Arizona State University reports.
Small drones have turned many areas of life upside down, from military work that allows you to observe the battlefield, to nature research, to shooting movies and video clips. However, quadcopter drones tend to be fragile and are not designed for rough physical contact with surrounding objects.
“We see how drones are used to shoot from above, but they can’t navigate between destroyed buildings,” says Wenlong Zhang, one of the authors of the new development. “Their rigid frames reduce collision resistance, so contact with posts, beams, pipes or cables in a collapsed structure is often disastrous. They do not regain their form and are broken.
In this context, engineers have developed a drone with an inflatable body frame. Its hardness can be adjusted to adapt to unexpected impacts. In addition, thanks to its shockproof body, the drone can land like a bird. Technically, many birds crash into branches while landing, but their soft trunks and flexible joints withstand it. The new drone is also equipped with a fabric-based gripper that works like bird claws and clings to branches (or beams). In this way, the drone can catch something and turn off the motors so as not to waste energy.
The authors hope that the drones could be used to monitor bushfires or military intelligence, as well as search and rescue operations under debris.