Design and Validation of an Obstacle Contact Sensor for Aerial Robots

Obstacle contact detection is not commonly employed in autonomous robots, which mainly depend on avoidance algorithms, limiting their effectiveness in cluttered environments. Current contact-detection techniques suffer from blind spots or discretized detection points, and rigid platforms further limit performance by merely detecting the presence of a collision without providing detailed feedback. To address these challenges, we propose an innovative contact sensor design that improves autonomous navigation through physical contact detection. The system features an elastic collision platform integrated with flex sensors to measure displacements during collisions. A neural network-based contact-detection algorithm converts the flex sensor data into actionable contact information. The collision system was validated with collisions through manual flights and autonomous contact-based missions, using sensor feedback for real-time collision recovery. The experimental results demonstrated the system's capability to accurately detect contact events and estimate collision parameters, even under dynamic conditions. The proposed solution offers a robust approach to improving autonomous navigation in complex environments and provides a solid foundation for future research on contact-based navigation systems.