Subscribe now

Technology

Inflatable drone can bounce off walls and perch on nearly anything

A quadcopter can use its inflatable body to land on a wide variety of objects. The collision-resistant drone could help search-and-rescue missions

By Jeremy Hsu

20 April 2023

This drone can perch on nearly anything

This drone can perch on nearly anything

Arizona State University

An inflatable drone can perch on many different objects by colliding with them – taking advantage of its soft-body floppiness to increase the time spent in contact with the landing target and to avoid bouncing off.

This approach loosely mimics the physics of how birds land on branches and other objects. Although the drone itself resembles a traditional quadcopter with four arms and rotors, its fully inflatable body can be adjusted to have either a stiff or soft airframe based on the amount of …

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

View introductory offers

No commitment, cancel anytime*

Offer ends 14th June 2023.

*Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.

Inclusive of applicable taxes (VAT)

or

Existing subscribers

Sign in to your account