A self-rotating, single-actuated UAV with extended sensor field of view for autonomous navigation

Article in Science Robotics: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...

Abstract:
Uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) rely heavily on visual sensors to perceive obstacles and explore environments.
Current UAVs are limited in both perception capability and task efficiency because of a small sensor field of view
(FoV). One solution could be to leverage self-rotation in UAVs to extend the sensor FoV without consuming extra
power. This natural mechanism, induced by the counter-torque of the UAV motor, has rarely been exploited by
existing autonomous UAVs because of the difficulties in design and control due to highly coupled and nonlinear
dynamics and the challenges in navigation brought by the high-rate self-rotation. Here, we present poweredflying
ultra-underactuated LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensing aerial robot (PULSAR), an agile and selfrotating
UAV whose three-dimensional position is fully controlled by actuating only one motor to obtain the
required thrust and moment. The use of a single actuator effectively reduces the energy loss in powered
flights. Consequently, PULSAR consumes 26.7% less power than the benchmarked quadrotor with the same
total propeller disk area and avionic payloads while retaining a good level of agility. Augmented by an
onboard LiDAR sensor, PULSAR can perform autonomous navigation in unknown environments and detect
both static and dynamic obstacles in panoramic views without any external instruments. We report the experiments
of PULSAR in environment exploration and multidirectional dynamic obstacle avoidance with the extended
FoV via self-rotation, which could lead to increased perception capability, task efficiency, and
flight safety.