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Drone Braiding: A Lightweight Approach to Space Manufacturing

CSEF · 2023 Applied Mechanics & Structures Honorable_mention Award

Co Ryan, Flint Jeremy · 11

Overview

Objectives/Goals: The success of Ingenuity, the Mars helicopter, opens up new possibilities for drones in space. Our goal is to demonstrate “proof of concept” for braiding with drones, expanding their function beyond aerial surveillance to include a scalable machine that can be used to braid different ropes and cables by varying the number and flightpath of the drones. Procedure: Three Tello drones were programmed to fly in a synchronized figure-8 pattern to form a simple 3-strand braided string. Each drone carried a spool of thread that was directed into a central funnel where the braid was collected. Tests were performed both indoors and outdoors to determine how various conditions affected flight. Results: Outdoors, the drones performed one figure-8 braid cycle with a 70% success rate. However, wind caused the drones to drift, falling to a 40% success rate. Indoors, the drones collided frequently due to the smaller space and lower light, resulting in a 20% success rate. Conclusions: This project demonstrates that drones could be used to make custom ropes and cables, eliminating the need to bring every size or the need to transport braiding machines to Mars. The low-cost, lightweight Tello drones that we used rely on cameras for localization, so low light and wind created inaccuracies. Our next step is to identify or modify drones with more precise positioning before attempting a more complex “Maypole Dance” flightpath that requires 2 sets of drones to weave in and out in opposite directions around a central axis.

Source coverage

This record comes from a published award list, not a complete project archive. Its abstract comes from CSEF's public project showcase as archived by the Internet Archive before judging (https://web.archive.org/web/20230401224130/https://ca-csef.zfairs.com/showcase/ShowcaseInfo?f=838e60b7-ea75-46e8-865c-fde4864244b3); the version presented may differ.

Awards (1)

  • Category Award: HM

Competition history

  • CSEF 2023 Applied Mechanics & Structures · Entry S0305

Resources

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