A new type of mini drone can pull a lot more than its own weight.
The drone latches onto a surface and uses a cable to reel in objects up to 40 times its mass, researchers report. This feat is a marked improvement over other flying robots, which generally can’t tote objects heavier than about their own weight (SN: 2/7/15, p. 18). The new palm-sized flyer, described October 24 in Science Robotics, could work in factories or help with exploration and search-and-rescue missions.
Each 100-gram quadcopter is equipped with either gecko-inspired adhesive or microspines, which resemble tiny fishhooks, that help it cling to various surfaces (SN Online: 6/28/17). After attaching a cable to an object, the drone flies to its destination, anchors itself to its landing spot and uses a mechanical winch to pull in its cargo. This sequence of events allows the drone to transport objects that would be too heavy to carry while flying.
Mechanical engineer Matthew Estrada of Stanford University and colleagues flew one of their drones up to a partially collapsed building, where the robot affixed itself to a concrete overhang and lifted a 200-gram payload including a camera off the ground to peer into the ruins.
This could also be used for evil purposes. Two hundred grams of metal fragment impregnated C4 would do a lot of damage. To read more, click here.