MiniCoRe: A miniature, foldable, collision resilient quadcopter

Abstract

Collision management strategies are an integral part of micro air vehicle (MAV) operation for flight sustainability. Among them, collision avoidance strategies require enhanced environmental and situational awareness for generating evasive maneuvers and collision-free trajectories. Simpler and more adaptable option is to prepare for collisions and design the physical system with predicted collision patterns in mind. In this work, a mechanically compliant quadcopter design using origami-inspired foldable robotics methods with protective shock absorbing elements has been proposed for a collision resilient quad-rotor MAV. 2D design of the foldable structure and the manufacturing process, including electronic hardware elements and software has been discussed. Our results show that in low speed collisions, the flight of the quadcopter is uninterrupted. The compliant quadcopter can continue flight after impact in near-hover conditions because of the reduction of impact forces due to the increased impact time.