Takeoff of a flying microrobot with COTS sensor payload using electrohydrodynamic thrust produced by sub-millimeter corona discharge

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the first flying microrobot using electrohydrodynamic thrusters, or ionocraft, to successfully take off while carrying an onboard commercial sensor package. The 13.6mg, 1.8cm by 1.8cm ionocraft is shown to take off while carrying a 40mg Flex PCB with 9-axis IMU and associated passives while tethered to a power supply. A new emitter electrode design has decreased corona onset voltage by over 30% and takeoff voltage by over 20% from previous efforts. Thrust density scaling with increasing numbers of emitter wires, continued geometric scaling for decreased operating voltage, device lifetime improvement via thin film deposition, and new assembly techniques are all explored.