Design of a Collision Mitigation Quadrotor UAV with Compact Spherical Configuration

In order to endow quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with collision safety capabilities, a compact spherical collision mitigation quadrotor UAV (SCMQ UAV) design scheme is proposed. The scheme consists of a spherical protective shell to reduce the damage to the aircraft structure and an anti-disturbance three-axis internal framework to mitigate the disturbance to its attitude during collisions. Particularly, the inner framework employs a curved layout and suspended design, resulting in a more compact propeller layout and a reduced wheelbase for the UAV. As a result, a smaller protective shell can be used. The study also analyzed the potential interference on attitude caused by the pendulum structure of the SCMQ UAV during collisions and its relationship with collision velocity. Finally, experimental comparisons verifies the collision safety capabilities of the proposed design.