The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) designed robotic landing gear for helicopters, consisting of four articulated legs that can fold and adapt to uneven surfaces, which they believe may be useful for “forward operating areas, ships at sea, and natural-disaster zones.”
Most helicopters rely on simple wheels and regular skids for taking off and landing, which must remain particularly level to avoid tipping their rotors, which could suddenly collide with the ground. As a result, helicopters must often hover a few feet above a hillside or broken field while they’re loaded and unloaded, which can be an inadequate solution.
Cue: robotic landing gear. The legs have contact sensors built into the feet to respond to force and help determine how much the legs need to fold or extend to properly land. All four legs are designed to work in unison as a computer makes real-time calculations on the best angles to set the legs at, so it does not risk the rotor hitting the ground.
DARPA tested and demonstrated the new robotic landing gear in an unmanned flight near Atlanta, Georgia, which allowed landings on broken surfaces with a high degree of safety. The system resembles an insect coming down to land, arranging its legs to keep the body of the aircraft stable and level. When not extended for landing, the legs fold up alongside the helicopter.
“The equipment, mounted on an otherwise unmodified, unmanned helicopter, successfully demonstrated the ability to land and take off from terrain that would be impossible to operate from with standard landing gear,” said DARPA program manager Ashish Bagai.
According to DARPA, the new landing gear is lightweight and easily installed, reduces the risk of damage from hard landings by 80 percent, and allows helicopters to set down on 20-degree slopes, twice that of current designs.
Via Gizmag
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