外部アクセス性を有する分割受動回転球殻機構

―Omni-Copter: 飛行体への適用例として―

抄録

A typical UAV with a passive rotating spherical shell can provide protection while keeping the UAV stablethrough gimbal mechanism. However, the passive/random rotation and gimbal mechanism have some drawbacks when applied to a real-world mission such as for search and inspection in the event of a disaster. The random rotation of spherical shell will limit any mechanism or sensor to pass outside freely. Likewise, the camera as vital equipment is continually blocked and disturbed by the spherical shells rotation. In the case of gimbal mechanism, its frame extends the size of the spherical shell. In this paper, a novel design of UAV with four degreesof-freedom (4-DOF) passive rotation of shell protector that can manipulate the outside environment is proposed to solve primarily the mentioned issues. The system is realized using two independent hemispherical shell that provides a significant gap. Through the gap, it allows any mechanism to pass outside freely unaffected. The independent passive rotation of two (2) hemispherical shell and two (2) DOF gimbal mechanism helps maintain the stability of the UAV. An offset weight is also added that maintains the posture of two hemispherical shells allowing proper position for sensing, capturing, or manipulation. An actual prototype has been developed to illustrate the concept. A laboratory-based test flight was also conducted to evaluate its performance.