Search

Despite efforts to circumvent and alleviate the impact of a mid-flight collision, it remains extremely challenging to safeguard a multirotor vehicle when it operates in cluttered environments. In this work, we introduce a flying robot with the ability to roll through a gap narrower than its diameter to prevent a possible aerial collision entirely. The novelty of the proposed design lies in a simple passive mechanism that redirects the propelling thrust for the terrestrial operation without the need for extra actuators. As a result, the robot remains compact and lightweight. Furthermore, to overcome the underactuation associated with the passive structure, the transitions between flight and rolling are accomplished with a highly dynamic maneuver. In the experimental demonstration, the robot seamlessly switched between the aerial and terrestrial locomotion to safely negotiate a 10-cm opening.

ABSTRACTIn recent years, a series of locally produced gay porn films under the brand name ‘Chitu’ has gained popularity among gay men in China. As all pornography, gay and straight, is still illegal in China, this phenomenon has notable cultural and political significance. Building on my nine months of ethnographic fieldwork in Chinese gay communities and subsequent textual analysis, this article attempts to use Chitu (arguably the first gay porn series in China) as a case study to investigate the representation of gay sexualities in China alongside an exploration of the perception of this representation. I unpack the production and perception of Chitu in relation to the notion of sexual citizenship and argue that the presence of Chitu celebrates a particular Chinese cosmopolitan gay sexual script.