PercHug (drone)

2024: Product Announcement

In mid-July 2024, Swiss researchers from the Lausanne Federal Polytechnic School (EPFL) unveiled an unmanned aerial vehicle called the PercHug. The peculiarity of this drone is that it can sit on trees and poles.

It is reported that when creating the drone, the developers took inspiration from bats and owls. PercHug is of the aircraft type. The drone weighs approximately 550 grams and has a wingspan of 96 cm. The fuselage is made of foamed polypropylene. The drone received an upward bow that helps it change orientation from horizontal to vertical when faced with an obstacle.

When hit, for example, on a tree or pole, the drone automatically turns its nose up, and a special latch system releases the tension cable that holds the segmented wings during flight. After that, torsion springs come into effect, and the drone, as it were, wraps around the support, fixing on it in an upright position.

In the future, PercHug can find application in inspection and surveillance tasks. It can carry a camera and any sensors on board. However, before that, the developers intend to improve the design. The fact is that about one in four attempts to land turns into a fall. In addition, the success of the landing largely depends on the thickness of the tree or pillar: on supports with a large diameter, the drone is held less effectively and often slides off.

We firmly believe that our study lays the groundwork for the development of new unmanned technologies and paves the way for the development of universal robotic systems adapted for various applications, the researchers say.[1]

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