A Novel Quadrotor with a 3-axis Deformable Frame

We propose a novel quadrotor with a 3-axis deformable frame using parallel link modules. By adding three servo motors to the frame, it has two configurations, namely, roll-pitch deformation mode and yaw deformation mode. In the roll-pitch deformation mode, it can tilt and fold the frame in the roll and pitch directions independently, which gives it 6 controllable degrees of freedom (CDOF). In the yaw deformation mode, it can contract the whole frame in the yaw direction. We propose a design method without thrust loss at any deformed state in both modes. In experiments, we show that it can fly stably even when deformed in both modes by the extended conventional control method. Furthermore, its applications are presented to demonstrate its high versatility.

Roll-pitch deformation mode

Yaw deformation mode

Paper

  • Akinori Sakaguchi and Kaoru Yamamoto, ``A Novel Quadrotor with a 3-axis Deformable Frame using Tilting Motions of Parallel Link Modules without Thrust Loss,'' IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L with IROS 2022 option), vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 9581-9588, 2022. SICE International Young Authors Award (SIYA-IROS2022) [link]

  • Akinori Sakaguchi and Kaoru Yamamoto, ``A Novel Quadrotor with a 3-axis Deformable Frame using Tilting Motions of Parallel Link Modules without Thrust Loss,'' IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2022.

Paper published in IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters [link]

Summary

The video shows the experiments of the hovering at fixed deformed states and the hovering with continuous aerial deformations, and the applications: perching on three branches and transportation by grasping.

Experiments

Hovering at Fixed Deformed States

Conventional state.

Roll-only deformed state.

Pitch-only deformed state.

Independent roll-pitch deformed state.

Yaw deformed states.

Hovering with Continuous Aerial Deformations

Circling with Continuous Aerial Deformations

Roll-only, pitch-only, independent roll-pitch, and yaw deformations.

Roll-only, pitch-only, independent roll-pitch, and yaw deformations.

Applications

Perchings

Perching on a horizontal cantilever branch.

Perching on a horizontal fixed-end branch.

Perching on a vertical cantilever branch.

Transportations

Transportation by grasping.

Transportation by grasping and releasing.

Transportation by placing on V-shaped groove.