Robotic Landing Gear Could Let Helicopters Take Off And Land Almost Anywhere

Megalith

Megalith

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Traditional landing skids are pretty much limited to working on level surfaces. DARPA is working on some “folding legs” that could replace them and allow helicopters to take off and land on a much larger assortment of terrain.

The adaptive system replaces standard landing gear with four articulated, jointed legs that are able to fold up next to the helicopter’s fuselage while in flight and are equipped with force-sensitive contact sensors in their feet. During landing, each leg extends and uses its sensors to determine in real time the appropriate angle to assume to ensure that the helicopter stays level and minimize any risk of the rotor touching the landing area.
 
Great technology if it works as expected. If a helo lands sideways on an incline, will the pilot or passenger still be able to get their doors open? I figure they have thought of that scenario but thought I'd throw the question out there anyways.
 
This is one of those things where I can't believe nobody has thought of it before.
 
I never thought of that. Maybe technology advanced enough to make it possible.
 
Except what happens when something fails or jams and one or more of the legs won't go down?
 
AceGoober said:
Great technology if it works as expected. If a helo lands sideways on an incline, will the pilot or passenger still be able to get their doors open? I figure they have thought of that scenario but thought I'd throw the question out there anyways.
Click to expand...

The rotors hitting something would be more important of an issue.

hanglandung.jpg
 
I'd like to the miniaturized hobby version for remote controlled helicopters and multirotors.
 
First thing that came to my mind was "man, that looks just like dragonfly!".
Once again, nature proves that it is, indeed the best teacher.
 
Sounds like a good idea but I wonder about why its needed.

Rescue missions or deployment of troops means the chopper in most cases never lands, also as mentioned above sloped areas are still a problem due to rotor width.

Wonder if the robot arms can be used for other things as well...
 
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