This Robotic Dragon Can Change Its Shape While Flying

Jul. 1, 2018

“Dual-rotor embedded multilink Robot with the Ability of multi-deGree-of-freedom aerial transformatiON”, or rather just DRAGON, is actually aseries of small drones. This thing can fly in different shapes like a curve or a square and evenautonomously decide which shape to takebased on the path it has to fly through or objects it has to avoid. The design is inspired by the tale of dragon kites which is made up of several smaller kites.Image Courtesy: University of Tokyo

Each of theindividual drones has a pair of fanswhich can be sped up or slowed down based on the thrust each part is required to produce. The mechanism uses an Intel Euclid development kit and has its battery pack distributed along its spine. At present, the DRAGON canfly for up to 3 minutes continuouslybut we can expect this to improve in future.

One of the applications this set ofdronesis that it can have is to fly up cramped spaces. However, its developers at the University of Tokyo envision a more compelling use case. They say that the DRAGON can have up to 12 modules in future and can be deployed as a “flying arm”, reportsThe Verge. It will be capable of handling and moving objects and could even be used to lift things.

In future, the robot will have a “multi-legged” design which means that it will not only be able to fly but to walk and maybe even run. Moreover, it will have the ability toautonomouslychoose whether to fly or walk, which in turn will conserve battery.