Design and Autonomous Stabilization of a Ballistically Launched Multirotor

TL;DR

This paper introduces SQUID, a ballistically launched multirotor drone capable of autonomous stabilization and transition from passive to active stabilization using onboard sensors, useful for applications in GPS-denied environments.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel design and control system enabling a multirotor to be launched ballistically and autonomously stabilize in GPS-denied conditions.

Findings

Successful autonomous stabilization after ballistic launch

Effective transition from passive to vision-based stabilization

Demonstrated operation in GPS-denied environments

Abstract

Aircraft that can launch ballistically and convert to autonomous, free flying drones have applications in many areas such as emergency response, defense, and space exploration, where they can gather critical situational data using onboard sensors. This paper presents a ballistically launched, autonomously stabilizing multirotor prototype (SQUID, Streamlined Quick Unfolding Investigation Drone) with an onboard sensor suite, autonomy pipeline, and passive aerodynamic stability. We demonstrate autonomous transition from passive to vision based, active stabilization, confirming the ability of the multirotor to autonomously stabilize after a ballistic launch in a GPS denied environment.