HoLoArm: Deformable Arms for Collision-Tolerant Quadrotor Flight
2026-05-25 • Robotics
Robotics
AI summaryⓘ
The authors created a drone called HoLoArm that has flexible arms inspired by dragonfly wings, making it able to bend and recover quickly after hitting something. They combined this design with a special learning-based control system to help the drone stay stable and recover faster. Tests showed that the drone can survive crashes at high speeds and carry heavy loads while flying steadily. This work helps make safer and more agile drones that can work well around people and obstacles.
quadrotorcompliant armsnodus structuredragonfly wingsreinforcement learningflight stabilitypayload capacitycollision recoverysoft roboticsaerial robots
Authors
Quang Ngoc Pham, Jonas Eschmann, Yang Zhou, Alejandro Ojeda Olarte, Giuseppe Loianno, Van Anh Ho
Abstract
The increasing use of drones in human-centric applications highlights the need for designs that can survive collisions and recover rapidly, minimizing risks to both humans and the environment. We present HoLoArm, a quadrotor with compliant arms inspired by the nodus structure of dragonfly wings. This design provides natural flexibility and resilience while preserving flight stability, which is further reinforced by the integration of a Reinforcement Learning (RL) control policy that enhances both recovery and hovering performance. Experimental results demonstrate that HoLoArm can passively deform in any direction, including axial one, and recover within 0.3-0.6 s depending on the direction and level of the impact. The drone can survive collisions at speeds up to 7.6 m/s and carry a 540 g payload while maintaining stable flight. This work contributes to the morphological design of soft aerial robots with high agility and reliable safety, enabling operation in cluttered and human shared environments, and lays the groundwork for future fully soft drones that integrate compliant structures with intelligent control.