Sensors to measure quadcopter ground effect are often relatively large, heavy, and require significant power, which restricts their applicability when it comes to small quadcopters and other aircraft that require lightweight and non-obstructive solutions. This paper presents the design of an elastomeric contact-resistance-based airflow sensor to measure ground effect with a mass of approximately 0.04 g and a power draw of 42 μW when in operation. It uses a rigid flap attached to the top of a flexible conductive pillar (CNT/PDMS), which deflects with varying winds speeds. A simple model is presented to describe expected trends between air flow speeds and sensor deflection and is compared with a wind tunnel characterization of the sensor for varying airflows. The sensor is characterized in a wind tunnel to identify a minimum airflow necessary for sensor functionality. Finally, sensors are attached to a Crazyflie 2.0 (Bitcraze) quadcopter and tested for performance in detecting ground effect, where there is a clear trend between sensor output and the intensity of the turbulent flow, related to proximity to ground and thrust level.

Turning in small legged robots often requires extra actuators and mechanisms which consume energy and increase weight. Controllable friction on the feet of underactuated legged robots can provide extra degrees of freedom for dynamic turning. Here, we present preliminary results demonstrating that low voltage (<;200 V) electroadhesives can be adapted onto a small off-the-shelf legged robot's feet for dynamic turning. It was shown that by changing the voltage, friction can be modulated to obtain different turning radii. A turning radius of 4 cm (half the robot's body width) was achieved by applying 120 V. However, it was also shown that the current electroadhesive designs are susceptible to scratches and wrinkles that reduce their performance after multiple runs.

A paper-based electrostatic zipper actuator for printable robotics has been designed, fabricated and characterized. A simple fabrication process that utilizes paper with a carbon nanotube ink is used to create electrodes separated by either a mylar or parylene dielectric layer. A 5 cm × 1 cm actuator demonstrated a maximum static deflection of 1.8 cm and a bandwidth of approximately 12 Hz. Static power dissipation was under 1 μW. Two of these actuators are combined to demonstrate simple motion in a 6 cm × 1 cm × 1 cm robot using assymetric friction with the ground, achieving speeds up to 33 mm/min.