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Design of a Mechanical System for In-Flight Grasping of Payloads with a Fixed-Wing UAV
This project will focus on the mechanical development and testing of a catching/grasping mechanism that enables in-flight grasping of small payloads with a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle.
The fixed-wing team in the Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL) is actively involved with small fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research. The endurance and high speed of fixed-wing flight is promising for long-range delivery of, e.g., parcels or the deployment of sensors for remote-sensing. However, getting the payload on the aircraft in the first place usually requires the aircraft to land, be loaded (typically by an external system) and then launched again by operators on the ground. In cases where the payloads need to be repeatedly picked and placed (e.g. sensors) or when they are located in regions inaccessible to ground operators, it would be desirable to automate this (re)loading process. To this end, we envision equipping our fixed-wing UAVs with the necessary hardware and algorithms to approach and pick small payloads in-flight as do, for example, birds of prey.
The challenges involved with this task are manifold with a key part being related to the mechanical design of the catching mechanism: The approach to the object is highly dynamic with relative speeds of 12-15m/s. Hence, there is very limited time to establish a reliable mechanical connection. Furthermore, due to the limited precision of the flight control system, the mechanism should be able to catch the object within a certain range to show robustness against misalignment between the aircraft’s approach and the payload to be caught. This could be achieved by active position-control of the end-effector or passively by the design itself, e.g. a wide comb-like structure. To maintain the safety of the UAV, the system should further fail in a controllable way or be released if the loads exceed a value that would otherwise lead to a crash of the UAV.
This project will focus on the mechanical development and testing of a catching/grasping mechanism that addresses the challenges outlined above and that can be integrated on one of our fixed-wing UAVs.
The fixed-wing team in the Autonomous Systems Lab (ASL) is actively involved with small fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research. The endurance and high speed of fixed-wing flight is promising for long-range delivery of, e.g., parcels or the deployment of sensors for remote-sensing. However, getting the payload on the aircraft in the first place usually requires the aircraft to land, be loaded (typically by an external system) and then launched again by operators on the ground. In cases where the payloads need to be repeatedly picked and placed (e.g. sensors) or when they are located in regions inaccessible to ground operators, it would be desirable to automate this (re)loading process. To this end, we envision equipping our fixed-wing UAVs with the necessary hardware and algorithms to approach and pick small payloads in-flight as do, for example, birds of prey. The challenges involved with this task are manifold with a key part being related to the mechanical design of the catching mechanism: The approach to the object is highly dynamic with relative speeds of 12-15m/s. Hence, there is very limited time to establish a reliable mechanical connection. Furthermore, due to the limited precision of the flight control system, the mechanism should be able to catch the object within a certain range to show robustness against misalignment between the aircraft’s approach and the payload to be caught. This could be achieved by active position-control of the end-effector or passively by the design itself, e.g. a wide comb-like structure. To maintain the safety of the UAV, the system should further fail in a controllable way or be released if the loads exceed a value that would otherwise lead to a crash of the UAV. This project will focus on the mechanical development and testing of a catching/grasping mechanism that addresses the challenges outlined above and that can be integrated on one of our fixed-wing UAVs.
1. Identify and review existing mechanisms used on aerial vehicles to grasp or catch objects.
2. Define admissible specifications for a payload to be grasped by one of our fixed-wing UAV.
3. Design and set-up an experiment to test different grasping/catching mechanisms.
4. Design, build and test multiple mechanisms which address the challenges presented above. Assess their
5. robustness, reliability and identify remaining challenges.
6. (If time allows) - Integrate your grasping/catching system on a small fixed-wing UAV to test it in real flight.
1. Identify and review existing mechanisms used on aerial vehicles to grasp or catch objects. 2. Define admissible specifications for a payload to be grasped by one of our fixed-wing UAV. 3. Design and set-up an experiment to test different grasping/catching mechanisms. 4. Design, build and test multiple mechanisms which address the challenges presented above. Assess their 5. robustness, reliability and identify remaining challenges. 6. (If time allows) - Integrate your grasping/catching system on a small fixed-wing UAV to test it in real flight.
- Interest in mechanical design, especially novel mechanical designs, and passively compliant mechanisms
- Experience with computer-aided design software and structural analysis
- Background in practical engineering would be desirable, particularly working with different techniques and materials
- Understanding of the limitations of fixed-wing flying vehicles, including basic flight mechanics
- Interest in mechanical design, especially novel mechanical designs, and passively compliant mechanisms - Experience with computer-aided design software and structural analysis - Background in practical engineering would be desirable, particularly working with different techniques and materials - Understanding of the limitations of fixed-wing flying vehicles, including basic flight mechanics
David Rohr: david.rohr@mavt.ethz.ch
Nicholas Lawrance: nicholas.lawrance@mavt.ethz.ch
David Rohr: david.rohr@mavt.ethz.ch Nicholas Lawrance: nicholas.lawrance@mavt.ethz.ch