HALO: A Safe, Coaxial, and Dual-Ducted UAV Without Servo

Abstract

This paper presents a novel uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) design named HALO, which stands for “harmless aerial limber robot”. HALO uses a swashplateless mechanism to generate a moment for pitch and roll control without requiring additional actuators such as servo, reducing the number of components needed for control and enhancing reliability. Its reduced weight and number of actuators improve payload capacity and maneuverability. Meanwhile, HALO's coaxial duct design improves safety and aerodynamic efficiency. Experimental tests, including figure-of-eight trajectory tracking, wind gust and stick poking disturbances, hover efficiency comparison, and actual flight with collision is conducted to confirm HALO's robustness and exceptional safety characteristics, suggesting it as a promising design for various applications.