Multi-modal Aerial Robotics for Environmental Sensing and Construction
Environmental and infrastructure sciences rely heavily on accurate, timely and complete data sets which are often collected manually at significant risks and costs. Robotics and mobile sensor networks can collect data more effectively and with higher spatial-temporal resolution compared to manual methods while benefiting from expanded operational envelopes and added data collection capabilities. However, robots are still limited in their ability to navigate and interact with changing and complex environments which often hinders their adoption in such high impact applications. New methods of more flexible, robust and efficient locomotion and interaction capabilities needs to be developed and the robots needs to adapt to the changing demands posed on them during the task execution. This talk will present how lifelike, animal-inspired robot design methods can be used to augment the capability of aerial robots. In particular, the talk will focus on research in multi-modal locomotion, adaptive perching and the co-evolution of functional and biodegradable materials in robotics. These research themes will then be discussed in the context of aerial robotics for infrastructure monitoring and repair applications.