Caterpillars for traversing the terrain and propellers for flying. Here is the hybrid Polish drone HUUVER

The HUUVER drone (Hybrid UAV-UGV for Efficient Relocation of Vessels) is being developed as part of the European Union project conducted by the Polish company Cervi Robotics. Of course, not alone, because specialists from the Polish Rectangle, Finland (LUT University), the Czech Republic (Gina Software), Austria (Brimatech Services) and Spain (NTT Data) also help at work. The most unique in this project is the 2-in-1 connection, in which HUUVER uses tracks to traverse the terrain and propellers for flying.

HUUVER combines tracks and propellers in a unique UAV and UGV hybrid project

Although the hybrid of two projects used in completely different domains may seem like an exaggeration, in the case of HUUVER, the creators are trying to convince us to be right. The problem is that while aerial drones have many uses, they require much more energy to operate compared to land-based drones. In practice, this means that in land mode, HUUVER can reach specific locations using less energy, and then activate flying mode to “do the job at height”.

In its current prototype form, the HUUVER drone measures 137 cm in length, 84 cm in width and 56 cm in height, and weighs 23 kg. It uses a pair of interconnected tracks to navigate overland, which can be used for up to 10 hours on a single charge of the lithium-ion battery.

Conversely, when HUUVER needs to take off, it activates its eight horizontal propellers that are aligned (and surrounded) with the treads when not in use. It can then fly for 20 minutes, and in both modes, operators can remotely control the drone in real time while viewing images from the gimbal-mounted Sony 4K optical cameras and FLIR thermal imagers.

Also read: The new Vollebak apocalyptic jacket uses NASA material and a US Air Force design

There was also an automatic mode using the Galileo satellite positioning system, or obstacle detection sensors (LiDAR), and above all, an advanced on-board microprocessor, which is the Nvidia Jetson AGX Xavier system. Importantly, the research and development phase of the HUUVER project has recently come to an end and the project is now moving towards commercialization.