At the 74th International Astronautical Congress, researchers from the GRVC robotics laboratory at the University of Seville presented the innovative concept of studying alien worlds using soft morphical flying robots. This approach uses flexible adaptive materials that allow robots to land on an uneven surface and take off from it.
The peculiarity of these robots is their unique design and adaptability, which promises a more effective and flexible approach to the study of planets and moon with complex relief, such as the satellite of Saturn, Titan. Researchers say: “By controlling the deformation of numerous rotors, the robot research can carry out a full landing on uneven surfaces, opening new horizons for research and the possibility of selecting samples.”
Titan is selected as a landfill to prove the concept, since this satellite offers a unique landscape with lakes, dunes and cryovulcans. Its atmosphere and a complex methane cycle make a titanium an ideal object for study.
The basis of the technology is the numerous rotors of the drone, acting with the help of a pneumatic system and a tendon mechanism. This allows hands to deform and adapt to various surfaces, which makes it possible to plant and selection of samples on rocky, uneven or irregular area.
One of the key achievements of the Griffin project, financed by the European Union, was a successful autonomous flight test of an ornithopter, which was able to land and stay on a tree branch using a claw system resembling birds. This was the first time that a large autonomous ornithopter completed such a complex maneuver.
AND GAZEBO robotics 3D robotics have used to verify the concept. It recreated a variety of titanium landscapes, including rocky protrusions and ice spots to test the robot in conditions as close as possible to real.
Cryogenic temperatures tested that Teflon (PTFE) is a promising material due to its thermal stability and flexibility.
Although the study is focused mainly on the titanium, the possibilities of using soft morphic flying robots in space research are much wider. The next logical step will be the evidence that the scaled prototype of the robot can reproduce the successful results of 3D-symises.
In conclusion, this concept increases the overall security and potential for research, making it promising for the future development of titanium.