Using Lattice-Based Structures to Enhance Collision Safety between Humans and Fixed-Wing UAVs

Abstract

Abstract The increasing potential of accidents caused by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over recent years has imposed a new demand to enhance safety. Although many control algorithms exist to avoid collision, these methods have a dependence on electronic devices detecting a potential collision in time to avoid it, which is not always possible. It is therefore necessary to incorporate safety at the hardware design level, ensuring the safety of humans even when an accident cannot be predicted. This research addresses this need through the use of lattice-based structures in fixed-wing UAV nose cones. These structures are manufactured with a pliable plastic material in place of classic composite or foam materials. We demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating a deformable structure for collision mitigation through impact experiments between fixed-wing UAVs and human head models. This allows us to evaluate the safety of the proposed design compared with the original nose cone. The results of both simulations and physical experiments indicated that the lattice-based structure can reduce the injury caused by UAV impacts to human heads by up to 50%. In the future, our structural design principle can be extended into different parts of fixed-wing UAVs, further improving the safety of humans in the case of unexpected accidents.