Retractable Arm UAV for Wearable Portability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional personal unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are bulky and inconvenient to transport and control, as they typically require mounting on a vehicle or carrying in a backpack, limiting their portability and user-friendliness.
Innovation Solution
A compact UAV design with retractable arms and propellers that can be housed in a wearable apparatus, allowing for easy storage and deployment, featuring a controller and sensors for gesture-based operation, enabling users to control the UAV with hand movements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If conventional personal UAVs are designed with fixed arms and propellers, then the structural stability is improved, but the portability and ease of transport deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the arms retractable rather than fixed. The arms can extend outward to provide structural stability during flight operations, then retract into the support body for compact storage and transport. This dynamic configuration allows the UAV to adapt its structure between operational and transport states, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and portability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements the nesting principle by designing the arms to be stored within the support body when not in use. The receiving slots in the support body accommodate the arms in a folded or retracted state, allowing the UAV to maintain a compact form factor for portable storage while preserving full arm functionality when deployed for flight operations.
2Ease of operation
If the arms are made retractable to improve portability, then the ease of transport is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retractable arm mechanism uses dynamic principles with motors that can extend and retract the arms as needed. This motorized system provides automated control for the retractable function, reducing the operational complexity for the user while enabling compact transport configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The support body serves multiple functions: it acts as the central structural element, provides receiving slots for storing the arms when retracted, and houses the control systems. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby managing device complexity while achieving portability.
3Ease of operation
If gesture-based control is implemented, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical control interfaces (such as remote controls with physical buttons or joysticks) with gesture-based control using sensors. The sensors detect hand gestures and convert them into control commands for the UAV, providing an intuitive and contactless control method that simplifies user interaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system includes an intermediary processing unit that receives sensor data, interprets gesture patterns, and translates them into appropriate flight commands. This intermediary layer manages the complexity of gesture recognition algorithms and sensor integration, shielding the user from the underlying system complexity while enabling intuitive control.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design makes UAVs extremely portable, user-friendly, and aesthetically appealing, allowing for convenient storage and smart control through hand gestures, enhancing their usability for aerial photography and surveillance.
Implementation Method 1
the UAV is magnetically attached to the base portion
Data Source
AI summary
The present application discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a support having a plurality of receiving slots; a plurality of arms attached to the support; and a plurality of propellers respectively attached to the plurality of arms. Each of the plurality of receiving slots is configured to receive one of the plurality of arms and one of the plurality of propellers attached to the one of the plurality of arms.