Robotic airship may be the future of drones
Robotic “Gondola” Airship build by by the research group New Dexterity, as the name suggest this project is heavily inspired to the popular 80’s helium airship, but in miniature scale and using some advancements borrowed by the drones industry.
Simplicity
Quad-copters drones may be capable of hovering in one place, but lift is generated by rotor thrust, that require strong battery and great energy , often the batteries only last order of minutes.
The robot gondola instead take advantage its floating body for much longer operation time , the simple design make it easy to build and to maintain.
We want to demonstrate that indoor airships are environmentally and financially viable, given an appropriate material choice.
The robot primarily use off-the-shelf components such as Raspberry Pi boards, propellers, a DC single brushed motor driver carrier, and LiPo batteries, a RPI Camera and balloon filled with helium.
Indoor Balloon
Maintain a stable trajectory of the floating “body” and control in windy environment is still challenging so the aircraft is intended to be used for indoor environment.
In future this type of robotic airship could be used as “quiet” floating camera, in commercial centre spaces, indoor construction sites or during sports events
Related Articles:
