Robot morphs midair to switch from flying to rolling on terrain

Mid-air transformation helps flying, rolling robot to transition smoothly

Engineers have developed a real-life Transformer that has the 'brains' to morph in midair, allowing the drone-like robot to smoothly roll away and begin its ground operations without pause. The increased agility and robustness of such robots could be particularly useful for commercial delivery systems and robotic explorers.

Robot morphs midair to switch from flying to rolling on terrain

Specialized robots that can both fly and drive typically touch down on land before attempting to transform and drive away. But when the landing terrain is rough, these robots sometimes get stuck and are unable to continue ...

Scientists from Caltech have developed a robot that combines the ability to fly and drive, and most importantly, it can transform in flight. ATMO (aerially transforming morphobot) is an advanced machine that can switch from flight mode to driving mode without having to land, allowing it to move smoothly over a variety of terrain without stopping. This solution could be groundbreaking for autonomous delivery systems, exploration vehicles, and res…

Caltech unveils flying robot that transforms into road vehicle in mid-air

The ‘morphorobot’ was ‘inspired by nature’, say its developers Specialized robots that can both fly and drive typically touch down on land before attempting to transform and drive away. But when the landing terrain is rough, these robots sometimes get stuck and are unable to continue operating. Now a team of Caltech engineers has developed […]