SNIAE-SSE Deformation Mechanism Enabled Scalable Multicopter: Design, Modeling and Flight Performance Validation

This paper focuses on designing, modeling and validating a novel scalable multicopter whose deformation mechanism, called SNIAE-SSE, relies on a combination of simple non-intersecting angulated elements (SNIAEs) and straight scissor-like elements (SSEs). The proposed SNIAE-SSE mechanism has the advantages of single degree-of-freedom, fast actuation capability and large deformation ratio. In this work, enabled by the SNIAE-SSE mechanism, a quadcopter prototype with symmetrical and synchronous deformation is firstly developed, which facilitates a novel and controllably scalable multicopter system for us to analyze its modeling, as well as to validate its flight performance and dynamics during the deformation in several flight missions including hover, throwing, and morphing flying through a narrow window. Experimental results demonstrate that the developed scalable multicopter can maintain its stable flight behavior even both the folding and unfolding body deformations are fast performed, which indicates an excellent capability of the scalable multicopter to rapidly adapt to complex and dynamically changed environments.