Drones are already capable of hunting other drones, delivering packages in some regions, and even helping with high-voltage line installation. However, their abilities become even more impressive within the laboratory. At the famous University of Tokyo, researchers have created DRAGON, a drone prototype that modifies its physical configuration in mid-flight, bending and turning in any direction as needed.
Authorities still hesitate to allow drones to operate as commercial package delivery vehicles. Major market players seem to have cooled their original plans, and the accident of the Russian postal drone during its inaugural flight in April did not help matters. These events suggest that the technology requires several more years of development, and one possible solution is to give drones greater flexibility. That is the aspect that the JSK Lab at the University of Tokyo has decided to optimize. The project is called DRAGON, and you need to see it in action:
Transforming in the Air
DRAGON is a modular robotic drone with the ability to transform in mid-air. Each of the blocks that make up DRAGON is equipped with two motors that can adjust their vector, and by extension, the direction and orientation of the drone. The hinges that connect the blocks also distribute power throughout the body. DRAGON's brain is based on one of the Intel Euclid development kits, while the battery pack, installed along the drone, provides only three minutes of autonomy. One of DRAGON's most remarkable abilities is that it decides on its own the shape it needs to adopt to fit through a narrow passage. In the video, we can see that a standard square configuration is not compact enough, and the drone's solution is to turn into a snake.
Future Potential
Its developers have indicated that DRAGON can connect a maximum of twelve modules and, if necessary, act like a claw to pick up an object or wrap around it, like a boa constrictor, which would be fantastic to see. I imagine they must first improve the drone's battery life, but its potential is enormous. We look forward to hearing more about DRAGON very soon.
