Passive Landing Gear using Coupled Mechanical Design

The ability of UAV’s (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to land on unknown and uneven terrain is an important area of research, particularly for applications such as field surveillance. This paper presents a novel solution to this problem using mechanical design, with a legged landing gear design that provides both suspension and stability on uneven terrain. The key features of this design are differential loading across legs as well as a conditional locking mechanism that resists post-landing disturbances. Results from a prototype design show robust stability when landing on uneven surfaces inclined up to 20 degrees, with analysis of an optimally damped suspension profile (for an approximated mass spring damper system with constant damping).