arXiv:2608.06707cs.RO2026-08

给微型无人机加罩,让它能像飞艇一样滑行,续航提升60%

Hoverflie: An empirical investigation of rotor shrouds to transform micro air vehicles into multi-modal hovercraft

论文配图:Hoverflie: An empirical investigation of rotor shrouds to transform micro air vehicles into multi-modal hovercraft
图 1 · 摘自论文原文
  • 给无人机加可调风罩,实现空中飞行与地面滑行双模式
  • 优化设计后地面效应升力接近原机3倍,空中飞行续航仍减30%
  • 用轻质薄膜材料做罩体,实测可稳定切换飞行与悬浮状态

面向室内或建筑环境的微型旋翼飞行器普遍存在续航极短的问题。本文提出一种定制风罩系统,将Crazyflie 2.1微型飞行器改造为兼具高效悬浮滑行与自由飞行能力的多模态机器人。搭建了可精确控制悬停高度和电机占空比的实验平台,实现升力数据自动记录。通过参数化测试不同导流罩、进气口与喷口结构,研究风罩构型对地面效应及自由飞行性能的影响。建立了一种新经验模型,不同于传统旋翼地面效应模型,能准确捕捉中等高度时的吸力下降现象。结果表明,合理设计风罩可增强有益地面效应,同时削弱近地及自由飞行中的负面影响。最优配置下,地面效应升力提升近三倍,且自由飞行气动推力保持相近;虽风罩增加质量导致飞行控制能力下降,但单次充电续航在地面模式下提升60%,空中模式仅下降30%。采用薄膜热成型工艺制造轻量化风罩,通过简单模式切换控制器成功实现空中飞行、近地悬停及飞行-悬停转换,并报告了跟踪误差以量化性能。本工作为轻量级地面效应飞行器与混合式无人机动系统提供了实验验证且易于复现的基础。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Small rotorcraft intended for use indoors or around the built environment have extremely limited flight duration. This paper presents the design and experimental characterization of a custom shroud system that transforms a Crazyflie 2.1 micro air vehicle into a multi-modal robot capable of operating as a high-efficiency hovercraft or a free-flying drone. A custom experimental platform was developed for precise control of hover height and rotor duty cycle, and automated data logging of lift forces. Parametric testing of duct, intake, and nozzle geometries was performed to investigate the impact of shroud configuration on in-ground-effect and free-flight performance. An empirical model is developed which, unlike typical models for ground effect in rotorcraft, captures the suckdown effect that reduces force at intermediate height. It is shown that, through proper design of the shroud, beneficial ground effects can be increased while diminishing negative effects both close to the ground and in free flight. An optimized configuration exhibited nearly three times higher in-ground-effect force while maintaining comparable out-of-ground-effect aerodynamic thrust, although the added shroud mass reduces free-flight control authority. Lightweight shrouds are manufactured using thin-film thermoformed components, and total single-charge flight time is shown to increase by 60% in-ground-effect while decreasing by only 30% in free-flight as compared to the stock drone. Finally, controlled flight in the air, hovering close to the ground, and hover-to-flight transitions are demonstrated using a simple mode-switching controller, with tracking errors reported to quantify performance. This work provides an experimentally-validated and easily adoptable foundation for future research into lightweight ground-effect vehicles and hybrid drone-hovercraft systems.

无人机地面效应多模态轻量化

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