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arXiv · 2503.04112

The Spinning Blimp: Design and Control of a Novel Minimalist Aerial Vehicle Leveraging Rotational Dynamics and Locomotion

Leonardo Santens·Diego S. D'Antonio·Shuhang Hou·David Saldaña
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Abstract

This paper presents the Spinning Blimp, a novel lighter-than-air (LTA) aerial vehicle designed for low-energy stable flight. Utilizing an oblate spheroid helium balloon for buoyancy, the vehicle achieves minimal energy consumption while maintaining prolonged airborne states. The unique and low-cost design employs a passively arranged wing coupled with a propeller to induce a spinning behavior, providing inherent pendulum-like stabilization. We propose a control strategy that takes advantage of the continuous revolving nature of the spinning blimp to control translational motion. The cost-effectiveness of the vehicle makes it highly suitable for a variety of applications, such as patrolling, localization, air and turbulence monitoring, and domestic surveillance. Experimental evaluations affirm the design's efficacy and underscore its potential as a versatile and economically viable solution for aerial applications.

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Leonardo Santens, Diego S. D'Antonio, Shuhang Hou, David Saldaña. 2025-03-06. The Spinning Blimp: Design and Control of a Novel Minimalist Aerial Vehicle Leveraging Rotational Dynamics and Locomotion. https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.04112

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