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Small drones can fly and observe objects, but their ability to interact with the world around them has been limited. Researchers at Stanford University are changing this with the development of small flying drones called FlyCroTug, capable of moving and attracting objects all around. These drones can work in teams with a pair of robots that can attach to a door handle and open the door.
The FlyCroTugs were developed as part of a collaboration between Mark Cutkosky, Fletcher Jones Chair of the Faculty of Engineering at Stanford University, and Dario Floreano of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland. Drones are aerial micro-vehicles that have been modified to anchor to surfaces using adhesive-inspired geckos and insect feet developed by Cutkosky in his laboratory in the US. framework of a previous project.
The FlyCroTugs can lift up to 40 times their weight, which allows them to carry cameras or water bottles in addition to opening the doors. Researchers say similar vehicles are about to lift about twice their own weight using aerodynamic forces. Flying machines are small in size to allow them to move in tight spaces and operate close to people.
Their small size makes them suitable for search and rescue operations. The idea is that flying robots could carry a camera to allow rescuers to plan access to a hazardous area or even remove debris themselves. The FlyCroTugs were developed with the inspiration of the wasps. A wasp will fly to a piece of food and if it is too heavy to fly, it will drag it to the ground.
Drones have Gecko forceps using non-sticky adhesives that hold by creating intermolecular forces between the adhesive and the surface on which they land. The robots have 32 microspines that can hang on rough surfaces. Flying machines also have a winch and cable as well as microspines or gecko glue to pull.
SOURCE: Stanford
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