TY - GEN
T1 - Towards Design of a Deformable Propeller for Drone Safety
AU - Nguyen, Dinh Quang
AU - Loianno, Giuseppe
AU - Ho, Van Anh
N1 - Funding Information:
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work was partly supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 18H01406. We would like to thank Mr. Vu Nguyen Tri Giang for his support on thrust force measurement.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 IEEE.
PY - 2020/5
Y1 - 2020/5
N2 - Drones have brought many benefits to our lives and their use is growing at a rapid rate. Many countries have drone flight restriction rules; however, the safety of drone operators and bystanders, and the protection of drones against damage require improvement. Here, we propose a novel design of deformable propellers inspired by dragonfly wings. The structure of these propellers includes a flexible segment similar to the nodus on a dragonfly wing. This flexible segment can bend, twist and even fold upon collision, absorbing force upon impact and protecting the propeller from damage. Part of the leading edge of the propeller consists of a pliable silicone rubber surface able to absorb impact forces and reducing blade sharpness. The propeller, which is approximately 10inches long, can generate a thrust force of nearly 1.3 N at maximum velocity of about 3200rpm. Results of blade sharpness tests showed that the deformable propeller was safer than a rigid propeller. After deformation upon collision, the propeller can return to its original form and work normally within 0.4 seconds.
AB - Drones have brought many benefits to our lives and their use is growing at a rapid rate. Many countries have drone flight restriction rules; however, the safety of drone operators and bystanders, and the protection of drones against damage require improvement. Here, we propose a novel design of deformable propellers inspired by dragonfly wings. The structure of these propellers includes a flexible segment similar to the nodus on a dragonfly wing. This flexible segment can bend, twist and even fold upon collision, absorbing force upon impact and protecting the propeller from damage. Part of the leading edge of the propeller consists of a pliable silicone rubber surface able to absorb impact forces and reducing blade sharpness. The propeller, which is approximately 10inches long, can generate a thrust force of nearly 1.3 N at maximum velocity of about 3200rpm. Results of blade sharpness tests showed that the deformable propeller was safer than a rigid propeller. After deformation upon collision, the propeller can return to its original form and work normally within 0.4 seconds.
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U2 - 10.1109/RoboSoft48309.2020.9115983
DO - 10.1109/RoboSoft48309.2020.9115983
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:85088137268
T3 - 2020 3rd IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2020
SP - 464
EP - 469
BT - 2020 3rd IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2020
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 3rd IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics, RoboSoft 2020
Y2 - 15 May 2020 through 15 July 2020
ER -