KU Leuven Researchers Use 3D Printing to Develop Hybrid CargoCopter Drones
The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, or University of Leuven (KU Leuven), is located in Leuven, Belgium; if this sounds familiar, it’s because Materialise is also located in the city of Leuven, about 16 miles outside of Brussels. KU Leuven has been involved in some pretty interesting projects that required the use of 3D printing technology, such as a 3D printed, multi-color object called “The Brain of Vesalius” for a Materialise exhibit at the BELvue Museum, and it also 3D designed and printed silicon-carbide sprockets for a collaborative “not-bicycle” project.
A team of researchers at KU Leuven has been working to develop a new generation of hybrid drones, which they call CargoCopters, that are purported to double the range and speed of conventional multi-rotor drones. This type of drone has been the preferred choice for applications like inspection and filming where the drone needs to remain close to its pilot.
The fully 3D printed CargoCopter drone is able to take off vertically using its four rotors, and then tilts 90° to fly straight. It was designed to cover distances up to 60 km and hit speeds up to 150 km per hour; it can also transport payloads up to 5 kg. It uses an RTK GPS for navigation, and deploys stereo cameras and sonars to ensure a safe landing. The team’s drone designs evolved pretty quickly, thanks to a parametric selection algorithm that optimizes each new CargoCopter design iteration “for its mission-specific requirements.”
The team told SUAS News, “The designs are specifically engineered to be suited for lightweight 3D printing. Thanks to this agile methodology, we were able to design, manufacture and test-fly dozens of prototypes with gradual improvements leading up to doubling speed and range compared to standard multi-rotor drones.”
3D printed drones are certainly not new: we’ve seen the technology used to make heat-resistant drones that contain embedded electronics, search and rescue drones, underwater drones that can shoot up into the air, and even drones that will deliver a Slurpee to your door. I’m sure the potential applications for a drone like the CargoCopter, which combines the benefits of both fixed-wing and multi-rotor drones, will be numerous. Discuss in the 3D Printed Drones forum at 3DPB.com.
[Source: SUAS News]
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