Airburr, flying robot, Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, Lausanne, Switzerland

[Airicist]

Developer - Laboratory of Intelligent Systems (https://pr.ai/showthread.php?2013)

Home page - lis.epfl.ch/airburr (https://lis.epfl.ch/airburr)

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/dm90IV3tMjI

Autonomous robot flies, collides and recovers like an insect

Published on Feb 27, 2013


The AirBurr is an autonomous flying robot specifically designed for missions in difficult, confined environments with minimal sensing. Inspired by the simple yet robust navigation strategies of insects, the AirBurr can navigate complex, cluttered environments due to its unique ability to resist and recover from collisions.

In this video the AirBurr navigates a corridor and a narrow doorway towards a light source using the signals from 4 simple photodiodes. This strategy is particularly adapted to following faint signals in unstructured, cluttered environments, such as gas leaks in collapsed industrial plants. The AirBurr is then programmed to explore a small room using a random direction algorithm similar to the one used by most robotic vacuum cleaners. This exploration strategy is useful in situations where other sensors cannot be used. It is demonstrated through a flight in a completely dark room where vision-based navigation isn't possible, and can also be used in smoke-filled environments where laser scanners have trouble functioning correctly.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/9aKkOpvgdeI

Flying robot perching on walls with gecko adhesive

Published on May 13, 2013


In the latest work presented at ICRA 2013 in a paper titled "A Perching Mechanism for Flying Robots Using a Fibre-Based Adhesive", the AirBurr V11 is shown attaching on walls using a deployable perching mechanism with gecko adhesives. Robots, similar to the AirBurr, capable of exploring cluttered indoor environments have many applications in search and rescue missions: they overcome ground obstacles easily and provide a high point of view. The new perching mechanism allows a flying robot to extend its mission time by turning off its motors while it scans the surroundings.

The video shows the perching mechanism that allows indoor flying robots to attach to vertical surfaces. The gecko adhesive pad is optimized for maximum attachment force and is mounted on a mechanism that stays within the structure of the robot during flight and that can be deployed for perching. The perching maneuver is very simple; the robot starts on the ground, takes off in the middle of the room, and when a perching maneuver is initiated by the pilot, the adhesive pad is deployed and the robot flies directly towards a wall. Once the robot is attached to the wall, the motors are shut down to save energy.

[Airicist]

Article "Airburr Flying Robot Attaches to Walls, Someday Your Face Advertisement (https://technabob.com/blog/2013/05/18/airburr-flying-robot)"

by Conner Flynn
May 18, 2013

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/Wt4jgRmoynA

Flying robot can sense contacts and perch on walls

Published on Oct 29, 2013


August 5, 2013 - Reuters reports on a flying robot navigating autonomously just based on the sense of touch, and able of perching on flat walls.

Relevant publications are:

L. Daler, A. Klaptocz, A. Briod, M. Sitti and D. Floreano. A Perching Mechanism for Flying Robots Using a Fibre-Based Adhesive. ICRA, Karlsruhe, 2013

A. Briod, P. M. Kornatowski, A. Klaptocz, A. Garnier and M. Pagnamenta et al. Contact-based navigation for an autonomous flying robot. IROS, Tokyo, Japan, 2013.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/TIpqxsVDgVs

An insect-like, crash-happy flying robot

Published on Oct 30, 2013


Gimball likes to make contact. In fact, this small ultralight flying spheroid resembles an insect as it goes around bumping into things. The goal of EPFL researchers was to develop a machine that could operate in extremely chaotic environments without the need for fragile sensors.

[Airicist]

https://youtu.be/O9ZHppqGJmM

Collision Protection for Flying Robots

Published on Nov 26, 2013


"Euler Spring Collision Protection for Flying Robots," by Adam Klaptocz, Adrien Briod, Ludovic Daler, Jean-Christophe Zufferey and Dario Floreano, from senseFly and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. Presented at 2013 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Tokyo, Japan.