The Mothership

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The mothership is the primary drone that carries the secondary daughter drone. It is an autonomous 25 Kg hexacopter with an integral cage-like structure. The mothership will deploy the daughter drone at the mast and continue its way homeward to complete the mission in 9 minutes.

Key Features

  • Equipped with six powerful MN1010 motors to carry the heavy daughter drone
  • Powered by four 16000 mAh LIPO batteries to achieve a flight time of 11 min
  • Equipped with a launchpad for the mid-air take-off of the daughter drone
  • It has a cage-like structure to reduce weight while maintaining strengthTry it now!

Daughter Drone

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The daughter drone, a 25 kg autonomous coaxial-octocopter capable of launching in mid-air, is meant to replace the communication module. It is equipped with a Pixhawk 4 for controlling the drone during flight. Intel Realsense D435 for obtaining live video feed of the surroundings, Intel NUC 5i5RYH onboard computation, Here3 GPS for localisation, and 7 DOF robotic arm for gripping the mast and replacing the module. 
Further, the daughter drone is enabled with an intelligent system that removes the rigid connection between the drone and the replacement mechanism, leaving them connected by ropes. So, after grabbing the mast, the mast’s motion isn’t transferred to the drone.
The daughter drone has an in-built mechanism which utilises gears and chains to facilitate the motion of the replacement mechanism and provide it extra accuracy.
The frame of the drone is built so as to reduce drag and provide better aerodynamic efficiency.
 

Key Features

  • It has a stretched-X frame so that the drone can go closer to the mast while keeping the COM close to the centre of the frame.
  • Reducing size & weight using coaxial-configuration and a 3-blade propeller
  • The frame is attached with the replacement mechanism to provide it with 3 degrees of transnational motions.

Drone Specifications

Mothership specifications

Daughter drone specifications

High Endurance

Light weight structure

Long Range

Intricate Algorithms

Gripping Mechanism

The replacement mechanism is attached to the daughter drone and is the most integral component of the design. It consists of two grippers- one meant for holding on to the mast and the other for removing the module- each with two degrees of freedom.
The replacement mechanism is made with light-weight but sturdy material to keep the mass to a minimum and thus reducing the load on the daughter drone. 

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Schematic of the Gripping Mechanism

Maneuvers for module replacement:

  1. The first step comprises lowering the gripper and grabbing the swaying mast, thus ceasing any relative motion between the gripping mechanism and the mast. 
  2. Next, the communication module is extracted from the mast by employing a specially designed gripper which will slide onto the module’s antenna and pull it out using a linear actuator. As soon as the module loses contact with the guiding rods, it will fall automatically.
  3.  Now the replacement module can be slid into place, completing the process of module replacement. 

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