Drone mechanism including foldable arm and compressible gripper

A mechanism for an unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a body and at least one rotor coupled to the body, the body comprising an upper side and a lower side opposite the upper side, the rotor configured to generate lift in an upward direction, the mechanism configured to mount to the lower side of the body, the mechanism comprising:

• a landing gear, the landing gear extending between a pair of skids at a bottom end of the mechanism and a connector at a top end of the mechanism, the connector configured to couple to the lower side of the body of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
• a storage system coupled to the landing gear proximate the pair of skids;
• a robotic arm housing mounted to the landing gear at a bottom side of the connector;
• a counterweight housing adjacent to the robotic arm housing;
• a robotic arm movably mounted to the robotic arm housing, the robotic arm movable between a retracted position wherein the robotic arm is folded within the robotic arm housing and an extended position wherein the robotic arm is unfolded and a distal end of the robotic arm is spaced apart from the robotic arm housing in front of the robotic arm housing;
• an actuator coupled to the robotic arm to move the robotic arm between the retracted position and the extended position;
• and
• an end effector coupled to the distal end of the robotic arm, the end effector comprising a gripper with a pair of opposing compressible elements for gripping an object between the pair of compressible elements.