US 12,384,536 B2 · Reconfigurable quadrotor with controlled rolling and turning

Abstract

A quadrotor is proposed than can both fly and roll. The proposed robot employs passively reconfigurable structures to enable the rolling, tightly coupling the attitude of the robot to the rolling cage. The benefits are precise rolling and turning control as well as improved rolling efficiency. The passively reconfigurable structures are enabled by pre-stretched elastic springs to generate a nonlinear restoring torque. The robot leveraged the superior maneuverability in the rolling mode to take photos of the surroundings at different tilting and panning angles to construct a panoramic image. Besides, the results of the power measurements show a significant reduction in the cost of transport brought by at low speed, equating to a 15-fold extension in the operational range.

Claims14

Dependent claims

An unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

a) a rolling structure adapted to roll on a surface;
b) a body mounted within the rolling structure;
and
c) four propellers connected to the body;
wherein the body is coupled to the four propellers by a passively reconfigurable module, such that the unmanned aerial vehicle is adapted to be switched between a flying state and a rolling state;
the passively reconfigurable module comprising four passively reconfigurable joints;
each said passively reconfigurable joint connecting a respective one of the four propellers to the body;
and
wherein in the rolling state, two of the four propellers are adapted to generate positive rolling torque and the other two of the four propellers are adapted to generate negative rolling torque.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Reconfigurable quadrotor with controlled rolling and turning

Life of this patent

Reconfigurable quadrotor with controlled rolling and turning

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14