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arXiv · 1907.07056

A Quadrotor with an Origami-Inspired Protective Mechanism

Jing Shu·Pakpong Chirarattananon
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Abstract

Despite advances in localization and navigation, aerial robots inevitably remain susceptible to accidents and collisions. In this work, we propose a passive foldable airframe as a protective mechanism for a small aerial robot. A foldable quadrotor is designed and fabricated using the origami-inspired manufacturing paradigm. Upon an accidental mid-flight collision, the deformable airframe is mechanically activated. The rigid frame reconfigures its structure to protect the central part of the robot that houses sensitive components from a crash to the ground. The proposed robot is fabricated, modeled, and characterized. The 51-gram vehicle demonstrates the desired folding sequence in less than 0.15 s when colliding with a wall when flying.

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Jing Shu, Pakpong Chirarattananon. 2019-07-16. A Quadrotor with an Origami-Inspired Protective Mechanism. https://doi.org/10.1109/lra.2019.2929978

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