Alien Logistics Drone

What it does

To cut unmanned logistics costs, drone type is switched via modular base. Vacuum suction cups grip curved/complex objects. Strong magnets add fixing strength, boosting crosswind stability.

Your inspiration

Through research on drones in the transportation industry available on the market, we can see that current logistics drones have a clear advantage in payload capacity, but they can only operate within a range of about ten kilometers, making large-scale commercialization difficult. Therefore, I believe we need to add extra value to these drones to reduce the development costs of transport drones. Hence, we have adopted a platform replacement method in the design to increase functionality.

How it works

A versatile drone designed for the logistics and transportation industry, the product can be switched to a remote transport platform or a soft grabbing platform. The remote transport platform uses a reinforced magnetic design to enhance stability, reduce transportation losses, and thus improve endurance. The soft grabbing platform employs a vacuum suction method to create a sealed space at the moment of contact, expelling air to strengthen fixation. Therefore, the soft grabbing platform can effectively grab and release items on curved surfaces.

Design process

First, to address the endurance issue, design ideas are proposed, focusing on improving wind resistance, enhancing power, increasing stability, reducing the weight of the body, and innovating materials as the main goals. Secondly, optimization and improvements are made to the main aerodynamic resistance by using a streamlined design to reduce drag when the drone is in motion. Subsequently, in terms of innovation, a magnetic replacement platform is adopted for redesign, and it is determined to use a soft robotic arm instead of a rigid robotic arm. Finally, a layout and size study is conducted referencing existing transport drones, and once the general direction is affirmed, sketching and model building begin.

How it is different

First, the product has innovated in functionality by using software grabbing instead of mechanical arms; second, it has innovated in function switching by changing components to alter functions; third, in terms of market positioning, the product is designed for long endurance with small objects, reducing load and its own weight to enhance battery life; finally, in design details, a night positioning spotlight function has been added to help the receiver locate the product's position.

Future plans

First, the product involves material selection and internal structure design in the implementation of the soft robotic arm, making the design more rational; secondly, the design will undergo structural optimization and production improvement, reducing production costs through circuit optimization and surface optimization.

Awards