SCoReR: sensorized collision resilient aerial robot

Abstract

Detection and control of the physical contact/impact between micro aerial vehicles and the surrounding obstacles have become a significant issue with the rapid growth of their use in inspection and mapping missions in confined, obstacle-cluttered environments. In this work, we introduce a collision-resilient compliant micro quadcopter equipped with soft coil-spring type force sensors to passively resist and detect the physical contact/impact of the drone. The sensors act as resistive elements with a nominal resistance of 130–150 kΩ. They are manufactured from a conductive material via FDM 3D printing. We install these sensors on the protective bumpers of the collision-resilient foldable body of the drone. Any contact/impact between the bumpers and an obstacle results in deformation and buckling of the soft sensors, which results in a drastic change in their resistance, making it possible to detect the contacts/impacts of the bumpers. With a total weight of 220g and dimensions of 22cmx22cmx9cm, SCoReR successfully detects and recovers 100% of the contacts/impacts when it approaches a rigid wall with a velocity in the range of [0.1-1] m/s.