Perch a quadrotor on planes by the ceiling effect

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel quadrotor design that uses the ceiling effect to perch on planar surfaces without claws or hooks, enhancing energy efficiency and stability.

Contribution

It presents a new perching method leveraging the ceiling effect that simplifies design and is effective on various surface angles and materials.

Findings

Over 30% energy savings during perching

Successful perching on surfaces with different angles

Improved stability when perching compared to hovering

Abstract

Perching is a promising solution for a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to save energy and extend operation time. This paper proposes a quadrotor that can perch on planar structures using the ceiling effect. Compared with the existing work, this perching method does not require any claws, hooks, or adhesive pads, leading to a simpler system design. This method does not limit the perching by surface angle or material either. The design of the quadrotor that only uses its propeller guards for surface contact is presented in this paper. We also discussed the automatic perching strategy including trajectory generation and power management. Experiments are conducted to verify that the approach is practical and the UAV can perch on planes with different angles. Energy consumption in the perching state is assessed, showing that more than 30% of power can be saved. Meanwhile, the quadrotor exhibits improved stability while perching compared to when it is hovering.