Watch Hybrid Robot-Drone in Action
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עברית (Hebrew)
The hybrid FSTAR is the first experimental robot drone that flies like a typical quadcopter, drives on tough terrain and squeezes into tight spaces using the same motors.
The FSTAR (flying sprawl-tuned autonomous robot) system has been developed in Ben Gurion University’s Bio-Inspired and Medical Robotics Lab by Prof. David Zarrouk, senior lecturer in BGU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and director of the Bio-Inspired and Medical Robotics Lab, together with his graduate student, Nir Meiri.
The robot is fitted with a sprawling mechanism, wheels and propellers allowing it to both run and fly using the same motors. The robot drone can fly over obstacles or run underneath them. The sprawl, which adjusts from a flat configuration to 55 degrees allows the robot to transform its movement from a flying quadcopter to a car-like robot. It also adjusts its width to crawl or run on flat surfaces, climb over large obstacles and up closely-spaced walls, or squeeze through a tunnel, pipe or narrow gaps, according to bgu.ac.il.
The current prototype can fly at 15m/s and run on the ground at 2.6 m/s.
It can run on the ground at a speed of up to eight feet per second (2.6 m/s). That combined with low energy consumption using the same motors makes FSTAR ideal for a broad range of applications that may require longer work time.
The system can have various uses, e.g. package deliveries since it can quickly fly to a target zone and then drive using its wheels safely and quietly to reach the recipient’s doorstep. It can also be used for search and rescue applications as it can fly over various obstacles and crawl between or underneath cracks where a regular drone cannot fly. The robot can also be used in agriculture, maintenance, cleaning, filming, and entertainment, as well as law enforcement and anti-terrorist applications.
