In this study, we developed a docking mechanism for drones that enables docking and undocking in the air for cargo transportation. This capability allows the drone configuration to be adapted depending on the cargo size and shape. We introduced a novel docking mechanism that incorporates magnetic adsorption and a newly engineered locking mechanism. We developed a drone detection system capable of estimating the relative position of a target drone by utilizing an onboard camera to identify the infrared LEDs on the target drone via image processing. Moreover, flight experiments, including detection, docking, and undocking, were performed using a mock drone to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed system.

1. [1] P. L. Gonzalez-R, D. Canca, J. L. Andrade-Pineda, M. Calle, and J. M. Leon-Blanco, “Truck-drone team logistics: A heuristic approach to multi-drop route planning,” Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, Vol.114, pp. 657-680, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2020.02.030
2. [2] F. Schiano, P. M. Kornatowski, L. Cencetti, and D. Floreano, “Reconfigurable drone system for transportation of parcels with variable mass and size,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, Vol.7, No.4, pp. 12150-12157, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2022.3208716
3. [3] J. Sugihara, T. Nishio, K. Nagato, M. Nakao, and M. Zhao, “Design, control, and motion strategy of TRADY: Tilted-rotor-equipped aerial robot with autonomous in-flight assembly and disassembly ability,” Advanced Intelligent Systems, Vol.5, No.10, Article No.2300191, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/aisy.202300191
4. [4] R. Dohi and Y. Higashi, “Integrated control and docking mechanism for docking–undocking drones in the air,” 2022 IEEE Region 10 Conf. (TENCON), 2022. https://doi.org/10.1109/TENCON55691.2022.9978033
5. [5] Y. Higashi, S. Akahori, A. Masuda, and K. Takeuchi, “Verification of an EPM system for an aerial inspection robot and close-up image shooting,” Advanced Experimental Mechanics, Vol.1, pp. 179-184, 2016. https://doi.org/10.11395/aem.1.0_179
6. [6] S. Akahori, Y. Higashi, A. Masuda, and K. Takeuchi, “Development of a vibration probe foot using an EPM for aerial inspection robots,” Proc. of the 10th Int. Symp. on Advanced Science and Technology in Experimental Mechanics (ISEM’13), Article No.055, 2015.
7. [7] S. Akahori, Y. Higashi, and A. Masuda, “Development of an aerial inspection robot with EPM and camera arm for steel structures,” 2016 IEEE Region 10 Conf. (TENCON), pp. 3542-3545, 2016. https://doi.org/10.1109/TENCON.2016.7848716
8. [8] K. Takeuchi, A. Masuda, S. Akahori, Y. Higashi, and N. Miura, “A close inspection and vibration sensing aerial robot for steel structures with an EPM-based landing device,” Nondestructive Characterization and Monitoring of Advanced Materials, Aerospace, and Civil Infrastructure 2017 (SPIE Proc. Vol.10169), Article No.101692U, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2260386
9. [9] A. Masuda, A. Tanaka, Y. Higashi, and N. Miura, “Reliable activation of an EPM-based clinging device for aerial inspection robots,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.31, No.6, pp. 827-836, 2019. https://doi.org/10.20965/jrm.2019.p0827
10. [10] K. Yamazaki, Y. Higashi, A. Masuda, and N. Miura, “Improvement of adsorption force of an EPM-based adsorb device by a suspension,” 2020 IEEE Region 10 Conf. (TENCON), pp. 1182-1186, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1109/TENCON50793.2020.9293917
11. [11] Y. Higashi, K. Yamazaki, A. Masuda, N. Miura, and Y. Sawada, “Attractive force estimation of a magnetic adsorption unit for inspection UAVs,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.33, No.6, pp. 1349-1358, 2021. https://doi.org/10.20965/jrm.2021.p1349
12. [12] C. Smith et al., “UAV rapidly-deployable stage sensor with electro-permanent magnet docking mechanism for flood monitoring in undersampled watersheds,” HardwareX, Vol.12, Article No.e00325, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2022.e00325
13. [13] J. Tugwell et al., “Electropermanent magnetic anchoring for surgery and endoscopy,” IEEE Trans. on Biomedical Engineering, Vol.62, No.3, pp. 842-848, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1109/tbme.2014.2366032
14. [14] K. J. McDonald, L. Kinnicutt, A. M. Moran, and T. Ranzani, “Modulation of magnetorheological fluid flow in soft robots using electropermanent magnets,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, Vol.7, No.2, pp. 3914-3921, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2022.3147873
15. [15] P. Zhang, M. Kamezaki, Z. He, H. Sakamoto, and S. Sugano, “EPM-MRE: Electropermanent magnet-magnetorheological elastomer for soft actuation system and its application to robotic grasping,” IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, Vol.6, No.4, pp. 8181-8188, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2021.3100939
16. [16] D. Saldaña, B. Gabrich, G. Li, M. Yim, and V. Kumar, “ModQuad: The flying modular structure that self-assembles in midair,” 2018 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pp. 691-698, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2018.8461014
17. [17] G. Li et al., “ModQuad-Vi: A vision-based self-assembling modular quadrotor,” 2019 Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pp. 346-352, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2019.8794056
18. [18] R. Oung, F. Bourgault, M. Donovan, and R. D’Andrea, “The distributed flight array,” 2010 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pp. 601-607, 2010. https://doi.org/10.1109/ROBOT.2010.5509882
19. [19] R. Oung, M. Picallo Cruz, and R. D’Andrea, “A parameterized control methodology for a modular flying vehicle,” 2012 IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 532-538, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2012.6385706
20. [20] M. Kriegleder, R. Oung, and R. D’Andrea, “Distributed altitude and attitude estimation from multiple distance measurements,” 2012 IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on Intelligent Robots and Systems, pp. 3626-3632, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2012.6385658
21. [21] M. Kriegleder, S. T. Digumarti, R. Oung, and R. D’Andrea, “Rendezvous with bearing-only information and limited sensing range,” 2015 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), pp. 5941-5947, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2015.7140032
22. [22] H. Lim, J. Park, D. Lee, and H. J. Kim, “Build your own quadrotor: Open-source projects on unmanned aerial vehicles,” IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine, Vol.19, No.3, pp. 33-45, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1109/MRA.2012.2205629
23. [23] A. B. Junaid, A. D. D. C. Sanchez, J. B. Bosch, N. Vitzilaios, and Y. Zweiri, “Design and implementation of a dual-axis tilting quadcopter,” Robotics, Vol.7, No.4, Article No.65, 2018. https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics7040065
24. [24] M. Rabah, A. Rohan, S. A. S. Mohamed, and S.-H. Kim, “Autonomous moving target-tracking for a UAV quadcopter based on Fuzzy-PI,” IEEE Access, Vol.7, pp. 38407-38419, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2906345