Tendon-driven Grasper Design for Aerial Robot Perching on Tree Branches

2025-02-28

AI Summary

Aerial robots exhibit high energy consumption and limited endurance in complex forest canopy environments. Method: This paper proposes a bio-inspired perching aerial robot system capable of branch-perching hover. (1) It introduces a novel tendon-driven, passive adaptive grasping mechanism inspired by bat claws—energetically active only during actuation—enabling stable perching on branches 30–80 mm in diameter. (2) It integrates raptor-inspired visual mechanisms into a hierarchical vision-based navigation algorithm, combining an enhanced YOLOv8 detector with a geometric constraint branch for robust trunk localization and autonomous load-bearing branch identification. Results: Experiments demonstrate strong environmental robustness and target-adaptive selection capability under natural forest canopies. The system significantly improves ecological monitoring data acquisition efficiency and operational endurance, establishing a new paradigm for low-power, highly adaptive aerial robot perching technologies.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Multimodal Perception & Sensor Fusion
• Computer Vision: Vision for Robotics & Autonomous Driving
• Machine Learning: Bio-inspired Learning

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Agentic search
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Applied ML and AI for Web-based mobile applications
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy

Abstract

Protecting and restoring forest ecosystems has become an important conservation issue. Although various robots have been used for field data collection to protect forest ecosystems, the complex terrain and dense canopy make the data collection less efficient. To address this challenge, an aerial platform with bio-inspired behaviour facilitated by a bio-inspired mechanism is proposed. The platform spends minimum energy during data collection by perching on tree branches. A raptor inspired vision algorithm is used to locate a tree trunk, and then a horizontal branch on which the platform can perch is identified. A tendon-driven mechanism inspired by bat claws which requires energy only for actuation, secures the platform onto the branch using the mechanism's passive compliance. Experimental results show that the mechanism can perform perching on branches ranging from 30 mm to 80 mm in diameter. The real-world tests validated the system's ability to select and adapt to target points, and it is expected to be useful in complex forest ecosystems.

Problem

• Designs an aerial robot for efficient forest data collection.
• Uses bio-inspired mechanisms for energy-efficient perching on branches.
• Validates system's adaptability in complex forest environments.

Innovation

• Bio-inspired tendon-driven perching mechanism
• Raptor-inspired vision algorithm for branch identification
• Energy-efficient aerial platform for forest data collection