The PercHug UAV flies with its wings outstretched and held rigid by a tension wire. However, when it comes time to land the device crashes into a tree or pole with its upturned nose. That naturally makes it reorient itself vertically, while the impact of the crash releases the tension wire holding the wings in place. The wings are spring-loaded, so as soon as the tension releases they fold inward and wrap around whatever the UAV is trying to land on.
Why would you want to crash your drone into a tree?
Answer: Because that’s how it’s designed to land.
Shutterstock/vovan
Researchers from the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have designed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that lands on trees or poles by crashing into, and then hugging them. They were inspired by bats and owls, who use their wings to climb or perch on trees.
The PercHug UAV flies with its wings outstretched and held rigid by a tension wire. However, when it comes time to land the device crashes into a tree or pole with its upturned nose. That naturally makes it reorient itself vertically, while the impact of the crash releases the tension wire holding the wings in place. The wings are spring-loaded, so as soon as the tension releases they fold inward and wrap around whatever the UAV is trying to land on.
It still needs to work on sticking that landing though — the PercHug only successfully remained attached to its landing spot about 73 percent of the time after fish hooks were added to the wings. It also currently doesn’t have a motor or propellers, it’s just a naturally launched glider and it can’t steer. They’re also working on a way for it to launch from a tree all on its own.
The PercHug UAV flies with its wings outstretched and held rigid by a tension wire. However, when it comes time to land the device crashes into a tree or pole with its upturned nose. That naturally makes it reorient itself vertically, while the impact of the crash releases the tension wire holding the wings in place. The wings are spring-loaded, so as soon as the tension releases they fold inward and wrap around whatever the UAV is trying to land on.
