Origami structure toward floating aerial robot

Abstract

In this paper, we introduce the application of Japanese origami art to the floating system of unmanned helicopter model for the case of emergency landing. The “origami floating system” is integrated compactly in the helicopter and expands by an electronic controlled system when the helicopter lands on water. We tested our proposed floating system using three types helicopters, with the origami made from waterproof paper. The results indicate that the proposed system is feasible for helicopter and other aerial vehicles. In addition, several origami balls were constricted as floating devices for the helicopter. The correlation between the diameter of inflated ball and the size of origami paper sheet, along with the effects of the weight of helicopter on the water, are also investigated in detail.