Hybrid aerial-ground drones combine the freedom of flight with the energy efficiency of traveling on wheels, allowing one robot to choose the best way to move through its environment. Flying consumes considerable battery power because a drone’s motors must continuously generate enough thrust to support its weight, while rolling across a relatively smooth surface requires much less energy.
A hybrid drone can land and roll along floors, roads, tunnels, or other suitable surfaces, then take off when it encounters stairs, rubble, water, gaps, or other obstacles. Newer experimental designs are taking the idea further by sharing components between flight and driving modes, reducing the extra motors and mechanical parts that would otherwise add weight.
In the future, these fly-and-roll robots could inspect factories and pipelines, explore caves and disaster zones, deliver packages, patrol large facilities, or explore other planets. Instead of wasting battery power hovering through an entire mission, the drone could roll when it can and fly when it must, giving small autonomous robots greater range and versatility.
The video above is intended for educational purposes and does not constitute or imply an endorsement by FutureForAll.org
