EPFL: a bird robot that jumps to take flight
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A team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) has created a drone capable of walking, hopping and jumping into the air using bird-like legs. Thanks to this innovation, winged drones could access a wider variety of environments.
RAVEN (Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments) is inspired by birds such as corvids, which often alternate their movements between the air and the ground, EPFL said in a press release on Friday.
The robotic legs enable the craft to fly autonomously in environments previously inaccessible to winged drones. “Birds can alternate between walking and running to take off or land, without the aid of a runway or launcher. Engineering platforms for such movements are still lacking in robotics,” said Won Dong Shin, a PhD student at EPFL’s Intelligent Systems Laboratory.
Won Dong Shin designed a pair of customised, multifunctional bird legs for this fixed-wing drone. He used a combination of mathematical models, computer simulations and experimental iterations to achieve a balance between the complexity of the legs and the overall weight of the drone (620g).
The resulting leg holds the heaviest components close to the body, while a combination of springs and motors mimics the powerful tendons and muscles of birds, according to the work published this week in the journal Nature.
Walk, climb and jump
Earlier robots designed to walk were too heavy to jump, while those created to leap had no feet suitable for walking. RAVEN’s design enables it to walk, climb over holes and jump on a raised surface 26 centimetres high.
The scientists also experimented with different flight modes, including standing and free-fall. They found that jumping for flight made the most efficient use of both kinetic energy (speed) and potential energy (height gain).
These results offer a lightweight design for winged drones that can travel over rough terrain and take off from confined areas without human intervention, notes EPFL.
Landing still remains to be mastered. The team is working on improving the design and control of the legs to enable the craft to land in different environments. American scientists also contributed to this work.
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