PufferBot: Actuated Expandable Structures for Aerial Robots

TL;DR

PufferBot is an innovative aerial robot featuring an expandable, 3D-printed scissor structure that can protect propellers near obstacles or humans, enhancing safety and utility.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel expandable structure for drones, including four designs and multiple use-case scenarios, advancing drone safety and adaptability.

Findings

Four unique expandable structure designs proposed.

Demonstrated scenarios show increased safety and utility.

Expandable structures can be integrated with existing drone systems.

Abstract

We present PufferBot, an aerial robot with an expandable structure that may expand to protect a drone's propellers when the robot is close to obstacles or collocated humans. PufferBot is made of a custom 3D-printed expandable scissor structure, which utilizes a one degree of freedom actuator with rack and pinion mechanism. We propose four designs for the expandable structure, each with unique characterizations for different situations. Finally, we present three motivating scenarios in which PufferBot may extend the utility of existing static propeller guard structures. The supplementary video can be found at: https://youtu.be/XtPepCxWcBg