A hybrid drone that can fly over, land on and walk across rough terrain before launching tiny drones from its back could be useful for search-and-rescue operations.
at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow, Russia, and his colleagues have created the MorphoLander 鈥� a hybrid drone that acts like an aircraft carrier 鈥� to get smaller drones near to areas of interest and solve the problem of limited battery life.
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The MorphoLander has four articulated legs that allow it to land on uneven terrain, and even walk across it, while maintaining a level position. It can also perch at altitude on tricky landing spots like power lines. This should make it easier for the smaller drones to take off and land near a target area.
Tsetserukou says the mother ship drone has a battery life that can maintain flight for only around 12 minutes due to weight limitations. But it can land to release two tiny drones, each weighing 27 grams and having a flight time of about 30 minutes.
The prototype has just two landing pads, each with a diameter of 20 centimetres. But the team says that half a dozen or more drones could be supported in future models. AI software is used to help the miniature drones land on the mother ship, which settled just millimetres from the central spot of a landing pad in tests.
鈥淭he big advantage is it can land on any surface, for example after a disaster like an earthquake or tsunami. It can land on uneven surfaces with lots of debris,鈥� says Tsetserukou. 鈥淲e can improve the system to land, for example, five drones all together.鈥�
Team member , also at the Skolkovo institute, says future versions of the MorphoLander could be used in industrial inspections, seismic surveys and search-and-rescue missions in cluttered and uneven environments.
Tsetserukou likens the mother ship to a mobile beehive and the smaller drones to worker bees that can carry out numerous small missions. The approach allows a total flight time higher than a large drone alone could manage. 鈥淚 would say that we can extend the life of [drone] rescue operation missions by three or four times,鈥� he says.
arXiv
