Small drones used for surveillance can monitor events for longer by attaching themselves to a wall and powering down their rotors to extend battery life.
at New York University and his colleagues came up with the idea and built a prototype from commercially available parts. Mao says the drone typically has a flying time of just 20 minutes before its batteries run out. But by having the drone stick to a wall, its battery life can be extended by around 12 times, reaching up to 4 hours.
The prototype drone has velcro on its undercarriage, which sticks to a complementary velcro strip attached to a vertical surface. The researchers believe that they will ultimately be able to replace the velcro on the drone with a material inspired by gecko feet. This will allow the drone to stick to any surface, from brick to glass, so it will be able to perch almost anywhere in an urban environment.
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The drone is stable both when hovering and while perching, but transitioning between the two states is challenging. Custom software calculates the approach speed and angle necessary for the drone to bash its landing gear against the wall and stick without sustaining damage. It approaches the wall rotor-first to gain speed and then rotates quickly at around 120 revolutions per minute to land.
The prototype drone is limited to specific landing sites, but in future the code controlling these violent landings will be built into autonomous control software that can observe a particular object or person, seek out perching spots that provide a good view, land autonomously and relocate as needed.
Mao says that the landings are inherently violent because 鈥測ou just have to use the initial momentum to slam it down鈥� and that this could cause problems in choosing appropriate spots to perch.
鈥淣o one鈥檚 going to be happy with this sticking to their apartment, but I think if we could cordon off special areas, or say 鈥榠n an emergency, you鈥檙e allowed to do this鈥�, then it鈥檒l be fine,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e gonna need permission 鈥� because you鈥檙e gonna get a bump on your window and then you鈥檙e gonna freak out.鈥�
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