Self-assembling Modular Aerial Robot for Versatile Aerial Tasks

2026-05-19

AI Summary

This work addresses the longstanding design trade-off in multirotor aerial vehicles between agile navigation and robust environmental interaction. The authors propose LEGION, a reconfigurable modular flying robot inspired by ant collectives, capable of mid-air self-assembly through a novel zero-clearance self-locking docking mechanism and end-to-end coupling. This enables seamless morphological transitions between individual flight and collective manipulation, forming collaborative aerial manipulators. The system integrates modular joint interfaces, autonomous docking algorithms, and closed-loop contact force/torque control to support aerial manipulation primitives such as pushing, pulling, rotating, grasping, and transporting. Experimental results demonstrate reliable autonomous docking, stable inter-module connections, and diverse physical interaction tasks performed by multiple units in outdoor environments, significantly expanding the capability frontier of aerial robots from passive observation to active environmental engagement.

Abstract

Multirotor aerial robots excel at maneuvering in three-dimensional space, and recent advances enable nimble navigation in cluttered and confined environments, especially for small airframes. By contrast, platforms built for high-altitude work tend to be larger to deliver high thrust for stable physical interaction with the environment. However, these conflicting design requirements create a long-standing trade-off between nimble navigation and robust aerial manipulation. Here, we present LEGION units, which are reconfigurable modular aerial robots capable of in-flight self-assembly for cooperative manipulation, drawing inspiration from the self-organized collectives formed by ants. Each unit retains nimble maneuverability while joint-equipped docking interfaces at both ends enable end-to-end self-assembly into a flying manipulator. We show that multiple units autonomously dock in flight; once latched, they maintain a zero-clearance interlock by controlling the contact force and torque, enabling reliable aggregation and articulated motion even outdoors. We further show that self-reconfigurability enables morphological switching between nimble individual flight and collective articulated manipulation, while realizing core in-flight manipulation primitives including pushing, pulling, rotating, grasping, and carrying. LEGION's self-organization enables aerial robots, especially in swarms, to shift from passive observers to active participants in their environment, broadening the scope of aerial physical interaction.

Problem

• aerial manipulation
• modular robotics
• self-assembly
• multirotor drones
• morphological reconfiguration

Innovation

• self-assembling
• modular aerial robot
• in-flight docking
• aerial manipulation
• reconfigurable swarm