Design and Autonomous Stabilization of a Ballistically Launched Multirotor

Aircraft that can launch ballistically and then convert to autonomous, free flying drones have applications in many areas, such as emergency response, defense, and space exploration, where they can gather critical situational data using onboard sensors. In previous work, we presented a proof of concept, manually stabilized folding multirotor that deploys from a pressurized tube mounted on a vehicle moving at speeds of up to 50 mph. This paper presents a larger, autonomously stabilizing multirotor prototype with an onboard sensor suite, autonomy pipeline, and improved aerodynamic stability margin. We also demonstrate autonomous transition from passive to active stabilization, confirming the ability of the multirotor to autonomously stabilize after a ballistic launch in a GPS denied environment.