Folding Drone Self-Deploys in Seconds

May-21-15 Keep your personal drone handy with the pocket-sized drones from EPFL, which fold down for easy transport and can be deployed in just seconds.

Inspired by origami, the tiny drones feature arms made of fiberglass and polyester, which allows them to fold into a trapezoid shape for storage. While folding drones may not be new, the EPFL drone stands out in its ability to self-deploy—when the drone is activated, the force of the rotors causes the arms to rotate outward and snap into place. Once the arms have been fully extended, small magnets secure the segments in place.

A key element of the design is the patent-pending system that allows a pair of the rotors to reverse their rotation once the drone’s arms have moved into flight position.

More Info about this Invention:

[DISCOVERY.COM]
[ACTU.EPFL.CH]

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