MULTIDRONE: a multi-stable morphing drone
The focus project will explore a novel morphing drone design that has the ability to change its shape to fly in obstructed and cluttered scenarios.
Unlike fixed-configuration designs, morphing drones can adapt to different flight conditions, as generally observed in birds adapting to varying environmental conditions. Morphing mid-air minimizes the risk of collisions with obstacles, enables the traversal of narrow and small gaps, improves flight agility and maneuverability, and optimizes energy consumption. During the focus project MULTIDRONE, the team members will design a drone that can change its physical shape, combining a lightweight design with shape adaptation to address all the challenges above.
At CMASLab, we have already developed a novel concept to manufacture highly multi-stable meta-structures. The meta-structures consist of a 2D periodic assembly of anisotropic Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP) grids with pre-stretched soft membranes. The design process is well-established thanks to the long-lasting experience of CMASLab in such structures. The manufacturing technique enables a highly versatile design. FRP meta-structures are lightweight and show a rich set of stable configurations enabling large and reversible shape transformation and self-locking. This combination of properties prompts a whole new perspective on morphing drones. The Environmental Robotics Laboratory (ERL), with his active interest in conceiving drones that can explore confined spaces like crevices or narrow gaps in natural and artificial environments, will support the focus project.
The novel drone frame design with embedded FRP meta-structures will exploit the multiplicity of their stable configurations as a lightweight and energy-efficient alternative. To this aim, the MULTIDRONE project aims at improving the performance of classical drones in terms of multi-functionalities and geometric adaptation, which have become pivotal for explorations of confined environments. The engineering challenges are twofold. First, the frame must ensure sufficient load-carrying capability to maintain flight stability in any of its stable configurations without compromising the multi-stability of the structure itself. Second, a lightweight actuation solution must be developed to obtain a controlled and energy-efficient transition between the different flight configurations.
Reconfigurable drones are a promising solution in the near future. Integrating multi-stability in the drone frames will potentially lead to unseen mid-air reconfigurations. The structure design will enable large aerial reconfiguration adopting the optimal morphology for each task. The project will pave the way for drones suited for accomplishing complex search and rescue missions and enduring exploration tasks in cluttered, unstructured environments.
Presentation on Monday 23 May, 17:15, CLA hall