Mechanical Subsystem

We used 3D printed adapters to fit N52 neodymium magnets to the arms of the drone. This was a delicate process and needed many iterations to not unbalance the drone or block the optical flow sensor mounted underneath.

Development Steps

1

COTS Electromagnets

For a first pass, we attempted to integrate a variety of off the shelf electromagnets. Unfortunately, these were either not strong enough or exceeded the Crazyflie's maximum payload capacity of 15g.
2

DIY Electromagnets

We also tried winding our magnet using 28 AWG wire and ferrite core. While a fun side project, this magnet was not strong enough nor was it light enough. 
3

Permanent Magnet Attachment

This allows us to stay well within the weight constraints while unfortunately sacrificing the ability to “de-perch”. Through testing, we achieved a delicate equilibrium of a total magnetic strength to allow perching yet still light enough not to need to significantly alter the drone’s dynamic matrix. 
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Image Description

Version 1

This version features a physically robust design with indent to super-glue magnets. This mounts to a PCB directly under the drone’s center of gravity. Unfortunately it also blocked the optical flow sensor underneath which is necessary for the model we are using. 

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Version 2

This design mounts to the drones’ “arms” (right underneath the propellers). This allows the optical flow sensor to operate, however does throw off drone balance quite a bit. We mitigated these effects by reducing the number of magnets forms 8 to 4 (lowers the weight), and by attaching a thin sheet of rubber underneath the magnet. This reduces the drones’ sliding as it perchs and increases overall success rate.

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    RoboSys Final Project

    Carlo Colizzi
    Krishna Suresh
    Sam Kaplan

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