For all the progress made in robotics in recent years, the industry has been deprived of one major accomplishment – building machines that are as energy-efficient as they are mobile.
Now, researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design have introduced a design that edges us closer to that ideal by introducing ATOM. This dual mobility robot works on just two actuators.
It can achieve both flight and ground motion using just these actuators and is more energy-efficient than its counterparts.
The motivation behind the design
Aerial drones can soar above rooftops and navigate inaccessible terrain, but consume power voraciously. Ground robots can conserve energy but lack the agility required in complex environments.
A mono-wing design like that of the ATOM robot is nothing short of the holy grail – a design that allows the robot to fly and roll at will, according to the conditions.
While the majority of the hybrid robots utilise extra motors, gear systems, and linkages to switch between modes, ATOM uses two counter-rotating actuators – and nothing more – to perform a takeoff, directional flight, rolling movement, and even turning manoeuvres on the ground.
ATOM acts like a spinning wheel in flight mode, flaunting its ability to rotate clockwise or anticlockwise. This versatility has been rarely witnessed in mono-wing designs.
When on the ground, ATOM uses its frame for navigation. When it faces resistance during turns, the robot uses a reverse thrust mechanism for smoother control.
Exploring the gaps
While ATOM might be the first-of-its-kind robot, the attempt to build it certainly isn’t the first. The robot’s simplicity is even more striking when contrasted with the past attempts to build such designs.
One such example is the mono-wing design proposed by Suhadi et al. (2023). It was an innovative robot, but it struggled with ground friction. As a result, it was limited only to smooth surfaces. Additionally, it could fly only in one direction, limiting its controlling capabilities.
Other designs, such as those in Jia et al. (2023) and Zheng et al. (2023), used added actuators or transformable frames to switch mode, which meant more weight in flight and higher energy use on the ground.
And, there was another common flaw: many hybrid robots couldn’t recover if they landed upside down. They required manual intervention to flip back over.
ATOM avoids all these drawbacks using its wheeled frame, which helps handle rougher surfaces with reduced drag. Its ability to fly in both rotational directions gives it a superior ability.
Also, its frame design and center of gravity ensure that it can recover from any orientation without manual flipping.
Where ATOM could go next
ATOM would be a great addition to real-world deployment thanks to its efficient mobility, recovery-readiness, and minimalistic design.
It can be used in search and rescue operations and flown into collapsed structures, then rolled through the debris paths to locate survivors during natural disasters.
Environmental monitoring could fly between distant waypoints and quietly roll through ecosystems to capture sensitive data. It could also combine overhead observation with low-energy ground patrolling for urban surveillance.
As robotics trends towards leaner and smarter systems, ATOM reminds us that innovation isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes, it’s about just doing enough.
