Methods of manufacturing with aerial robots

Abstract

This thesis explores manufacturing with aerial robots and demonstrates the precision possible for building structures with current technology. The thesis focuses on the development of novel mechanisms and use of unconventional materials for aerial manufacturing, automated algorithms that allow for structures built by robot to adapt to differing environments, and the use of perching as a method to elongate aerial robots' mission times for manufacturing tasks.

After examining the challenges and reviewing the relevant biological and robotic literature, three distinct methods for manufacturing with aerial robots were explored including the use of monolithic polyurethane foam, modular block elements and adhesives, and tensile strings and ropes. Each method explores a different way of overcoming the payload limitations, flight time constraints, and precise component placement requirements of aerial robots for manufacturing structures. Several novel mechanisms, robotic prototypes, and automated processes were developed for each system to realise the approaches. Each approach culminated in proof of concept demonstrations of built structures for a variety of applications.

The three tested approaches are then assessed and compared qualitatively and quantitatively to gain insight into the relative performance of the systems against each other. In addition, a hybrid approach combining parts of all three methods is carried out and its contrast to previous approaches to aerial robotic manufacturing is discussed. This thesis brings forward a new perspective on aerial robotic manufacturing in which unconventional materials, novel mechanisms, and automated algorithms allow for structures that are more functional, bespoke, and more versatile to be built.