EPFL’s AirBurr micro air vehicle has been in development for a number of years and has developed from a roll cage protected design, into a autonomous self righting flying robot.
The latest creation by AirBurr has been designed to be able to recover itself after a collision with a wall surface will object. After the flying robot has collided with an instruction and dropped to the floor it will then roll using its centre of gravity and deploy it “Active Recovery System”. Which you can see in action after the jump.
Using both its centre of gravity and its active recovery system the flying robot can self right ready again for takeoff. Without the need for multiple sensors or on-board computer power which would add weight to its flying chassis.
“The active uprighting mechanism described in this paper is a first mechanical implementation that could be extended through improved sensing and control. Initial investigations show that lightweight strain gauges integrated into the legs can measure the shape of the leg and, thus, the force it provides at its tip. Further, strain gauges can measure tension in the string and, thus, contact with obstacles. Such information can be leveraged to create a more intelligent controller that can extract the platform from ever more complex situations.”
Source: Engadget : École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne : Spectrum
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