Mechatronic gripper system and delivery platform for the autonomous cargo transport with unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

For intralogistics material transport with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), special pickup and release devices are necessary to guarantee a reliable and efficient transport process in the field of application. Therefore, the paper presents a process-reliable transport system comprising a mechatronic gripper and a landing platform to conduct autonomous cargo pick-up and delivery. The presented configuration was used with a commercial UAV for the autonomous product handover between defined locations. To compare the performance against conventional methods of transporting small goods, different scenarios were carried out. The potential time saving is verified through comparisons with conventional conveyor systems. The cooperation of drone fleets and multi-UAV monitoring by a single operator are also discussed.