MORE | Fall 2022

Contact-Based Navigation and SLAM Using Collision-Resilient UAVs

This research intends to develop a novel navigation algorithm for Collision-Resilient Quadcopters (CRQ), which are quadcopters that can take collisions and still maintain stable flight. This algorithm will enable the quadcopter to navigate when there is zero knowledge of the environment. It is almost the equivalent of a person who is blind navigating through a room with a sense of touch only. The algorithm exploits the ability of the designed CRQ to establish and maintain contact with the obstacles and traverse along them. Simultaneously, a map of the environment with obstacle information is generated, which can be utilized by other robots for navigation.