Current UAVs capable of perching require added structure and mechanisms to accomplish this. These take the form of hooks, claws, needles, etc which add weight and usually drag. We propose in this paper the dual use of structures already on the vehicle to enable perching, thus reducing the weight and drag cost associated with perching UAVs. We propose a wing design capable of passively wrapping around a vertical pole to perch. We experimentally investigate the feasibility of the design, presenting results on minimum required perching speeds as well as the effect of weight distribution on the success rate of the wing wrapping. Finally, we comment on design requirements for holding onto the pole based on our findings.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2306.05324,
title = {Perching by hugging: an initial feasibility study},
author = {William Stewart and Mohammad Askari and Maïk Guihard and Dario Floreano},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2306.05324},
year = {2023}
}
Comments
Un-Peer Reviewed. Presented at the ICRA 2021 Aerial Robotics Workshop