Gimball: An insect-like, crash-happy flying robot
A very clever take on the Japanese sphere of a couple of years ago from . Mounting the control surfaces and power on a free hanging internal gimble gets rid of all sorts of problems. It made me declare of course! As with so many things less can be more!
Powered by twin propellers and steered by fins, Gimball can stay on course despite its numerous collisions. This feat was a formidable challenge for EPFL PhD student Adrien Briod. “The idea was for the robot’s body to stay balanced after a collision, so that it can keep to its trajectory,” he explains. “Its predecessors, which weren’t stabilized, tended to take off in random directions after impact.” With colleague Przemyslaw Mariusz Kornatowski, Briod developed the gyroscopic stabilization system consisting of a double carbon-fiber ring that keeps the robot oriented vertically, while the cage absorbs shocks as it rotates.
Going sensor-free: insect-inspired design
Most robots navigate using a complex network of sensors, which allow them to avoid obstacles by reconstructing the environment around them. It’s an inconvenient method, says Briod. “The sensors are heavy and fragile. And they can’t operate in certain conditions, for example if the environment is full of smoke.”
Gimball’s robustness lies in its technological simplicity, says Briod. “Flying insects handle collisions quite well. For them, shocks aren’t really accidents, because they’re designed to bounce back from them. This is the direction we decided to take in our research.”
Navigating chaotic environments
The flying robot is prepared to deal with the most difficult terrain out there. “Our objective was exactly that – to be able to operate where other robots can’t go, such as a building that has collapsed in an earthquake. The on-board camera can provide valuable information to emergency personnel.” The scientist had an opportunity to test his prototype in a Swiss pine forest. Fitted out with just a compass and an altitude sensor, Gimball demonstrated its ability to maintain its course over several hundred meters despite colliding with several tree trunks along the way.
Gimball is the latest in a long line of colliding robots developed in the laboratory of EPFL professor Dario Floreano. But its stabilization system, spherical shape and ultralight weight – barely 370 grams – demonstrate the potential of the concept better than ever before. “The mechanics must also be intelligent, since complex obstacle avoidance systems are not sufficient,” says Briod. Even so, he insists, “we’re not yet ready to compete with our model. Insects are still superior.
My own not as clever attempt at a ball a couple of years ago.
The KK2 board has firmware for VTOLs and Hobbyking also sell a suitable duel motor setup
That’s enough clues. The contra rotating props will sort out the yaw, you can clearly see how the original handled it in this video.
