Hopcopter hopping drone prototype gets flexible foot pad: 84% less performance variation across terrains

Researchers from City University of Hong Kong and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have developed a second version of the Hopcopter, a quadcopter drone with a single spring-loaded leg, New Atlas reports. A new flexible foot pad, designed by partners at the University of Toronto, reduced performance variation across different terrains by 84% newatlas.comNew Atlasnewatlas.comOpen source ↗. The study was published in the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems.

How the Hopcopter moves

The idea comes from birds, which often hop instead of flying constantly and save energy this way. The Hopcopter hops from one spot to another, and when there is no suitable place to land, it can stay in the air like a regular drone newatlas.comNew Atlasnewatlas.comOpen source ↗. By switching between flying and hopping, the robot could reach places that would otherwise be accessible only by airdrop.

During a hop the robot enters a free fall, and then, as it goes up, its four rotors engage very briefly. According to the creators, this lets the Hopcopter cover quite long distances using one-tenth the energy of a drone of the same size newatlas.comNew Atlasnewatlas.comOpen source ↗.

What changed in the second version

The original prototype, announced two years ago, could land on its leg on flat surfaces such as concrete or fine gravel and push off toward the next spot. On less predictable terrain it sank into sand, slipped on ice and often fell over when landing on slopes newatlas.comNew Atlasnewatlas.comOpen source ↗.

The new foot pad addresses these problems in three ways. Its wider surface spreads the robot's weight and keeps it from sinking into soft soil or sand. Three rubber bands provide the tension that returns the foot to position after landing and helps the robot regain balance. Short spikes on the bottom improve grip on slippery surfaces.

As a result, the robot lands more consistently when moving between surfaces such as ice, sand and rocks newatlas.comNew Atlasnewatlas.comOpen source ↗.

Commercialization and plans

Some of the Hopcopter's creators are working on commercializing the technology. The production version is not yet on sale. The research team hopes to use the robot for search-and-rescue operations, inspections of remote mining sites and possibly exploration of other planets.