Quadcopters build a rope bridge



    Multicopters are not just expensive toys that can sometimes shoot beautiful videos and photos from a camera attached to them. Drones can come up with far more applications than light cargo delivery . Multicopters easily perform complex and precise movements, they get the given points in space, going around obstacles, and freeze in space. The disadvantages include the low payload mass. As researchers at the Swiss Higher Technical School in Zurich demonstrate, quadrocopters are able to work together with a rope and build a bridge over which people can walk.

    In the video above, quadrocopter drones are building a complex structure. Everything happens in a special room measuring 10 × 10 × 10 meters in Zurich, which is calledFlying Machine Arena . The room space is empty - there are only cameras, a high-precision motion capture system, a wireless communication network and guiding structures, on which the created bridge rests. Computations for control are performed on the ground. The bridge is built from a polyethylene rope brand "Dyneema" (Dyneema). It is an elastic material with a high weight to strength ratio. With a diameter of 4 millimeters, the thread weighs 7 grams per meter and can withstand up to 1300 kilograms.



    A coil with a rope is installed on each of the drones, and it is guided by a special groove with an outlet between the propellers. Each bobbin has an electric motor to control the tension of the thread. The bridge is knitted using various techniques: these are knots, loops and braids. About 120 meters of rope took a 7.4 meter long bridge. First, the location of the guide metal structures and the desired starting points are determined. Then the bridge is assembled fully automatically without human intervention. Unmanned aerial vehicles only place ropes using existing piles.



    To achieve proper operation, the system measures external forces and moments. Received data are taken into account. After collecting the bridge, you can immediately walk along it, which the researchers demonstrate in the video posted before the kat. Only then stabilizers are added so that the bridge does not swing, and it is easier to move on it.

    A team of researchers has created software to facilitate the process of creating such structures and building them using drones. The kit simulates the design, arranges the collection steps in the correct order, and evaluates the structure before the assembly process begins.

    This is not the first such demonstration: two years ago, researchers published a no less spectacular video, albeit not trying to demonstrate the practical application of the technology.



    Project page on the website of the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich

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