GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue 005

Elios: The World's
First Collision
Tolerant Drone
Photo by: Flyability
Drones have been around for
some time and they are usually
used for different purposes like
taking aerial footages of events,
and taking aerial selfies. For
the engineering field though,
drones have a different purpose,
they are used to survey and
inspect different areas that are
too difficult or dangerous for
people to do so themselves.
Using drones not only makes
the job safe and effective, it
also promotes safety—since
people don’t have to risk going
through extreme measures
to survey or inspect a certain
area. However, one flaw in
using drones is that it could get
damaged during inspection or
surveying. This can happen if
the area being inspected is too
tight—the drone would bump
into different places, and could
get damaged. Falling debris,
and weather issues could also
damage the drone.
This is why the company
Flyability developed Elios, the
world’s first collision tolerant
drone. This drone is surrounded
by a 15-inch exoskeleton-sphere
(approximated size). The idea
of this drone was inspired by
houseflies, which bounces off a
surface and keep flying. Elios is
equipped with a free-rotating
carbon-fiber exoskeleton which
spins on a separate axis from
the drone avionics inside.
When Elios hits a wall, the
cage will continue to spin and
therefore absorb the energy from
the collision while the propellers
inside are still spinning and the
HD camera and lighting system
are still stabilized. This drone
can be used in different extreme
and dangerous environments
that could cause harm to a
person like chemical spill sites,
collapsed buildings and even
glaciers.
38
JULY 2016
Future Cities & Robotics