This is how the first folding monocopter flies

which despite its curious way of flying, is completely pilotable. You can see it in the video opening of the news.

A monocopter is a type of micro-aerial vehicle inspired by the peculiar flight of the sámaras, some seeds in the shape of shovel They spin similar to the blades of a helicopter. For example, the maple seeds.

He monocopter It only has a blade where an engine is attached, and here all its useful aerodynamic forces are generated. consume less energy than a helicopter, so it owns much greater autonomy.

However, to be able to fly the blade has to be exaggeratedly long and large, compared to the cockpit.

These engineers from the University of Singapore have solved the problem by designing a shovel that can be folded. We don’t know if it could apply to a monocopter life-size, but it does work perfectly with a miniature one.

The folding monocopter

With their semi-rigid wing, which straightens out during flight, they manage to reduce the size by 69%when folded.

Another obvious problem with monocopters is that they are more difficult to controlbecause they only have a propeller that turns on itself.

Despite its limited momentum, this model is controllable in 5 degrees of freedom, using a single thrust unit. They achieve altitude control by regulating the force generated by the thrust unit over multiple rotations.

Lateral control is obtained by pulsing the thrust unit at specific times during each rotation cycle.

With this system, you can use this folding monocopter in missions of waypoint tracking and trajectoriesas seen in the video.

The technical data is very promising: it only weighs 69 gramsreaches a maximum lateral speed of about 2.37 m/s, an average consumption of 9.78 W and a flight time of 16 minutes with its semi-rigid wing. Up to three times more autonomy than a drone with the same battery.

This folding monocopter It can be useful in tasks where you have to transport it, or put it through small holes, and that requires more autonomy usual.