Since 1988, IROS (International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems) has been one of the most highly respected annual academic technology conferences. With more than 400,000 members from 160 different countries, the IROS Conference Paper Review Board can receive up to 2,000 submissions for review each year. In 2019, engineers from Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab submitted a paper on their mini projectile drone prototype to IROS. The paper titled Design and Autonomous Stabilization of a Ballistically Launched Multirotor won first place and granted the team a presentation slot at the 2019 conference in Macau, China.

The introduction of the paper states, “Unmanned fixed-wing and multirotor aircraft are usually launched manually by an attentive human operator. Aerial systems that can instead be launched ballistically without operator intervention will play an important role in emergency response, defense, and space exploration where situational awareness is often required, but the ability to conventionally launch aircraft to gather this information is not available.” The prototype that the team, led by Caltech graduate student Amanda Bouman, presented was a 3 inch diameter conical drone that is launched from a tube with a shot of compressed CO2. Once the drone is free from its launch tube, spring-loaded arms with rotors and landing gear unfold. With the affirmation that comes with being recognized by IROS, Amanda and her team returned to California to expand their drone called SQUID, which stands for Streamlined Quick Unfolding Investigation Drone.

In August of 2020, Amanda and her colleagues released the new, improved, and bigger SQUID. The basic design principles of the drone stayed the same, but it was doubled in size to accommodate sensors, a camera, and greater flight stability. When folded into the launch tube, SQUID looks like a 6 inch diameter missile. The bulk of the drone’s 7lbs is in its nosecone. This ensures trajectory upon launch and aerodynamics. It also stabilizes the drone’s center of gravity so that the landing gear operates smoothly. Housed within the body of the drone are lightweight, low-cost sensors to enable autonomous flight. These systems include a TeraRanger Evo rangefinder and VectorNav VN-100 barometer and IMU. The drone’s AI computer is supplied by an NVIDIA Jetson TX2. At the bottom of the drone is a USB port and a FLIR Chameleon 3 camera.

Being able to launch the drone like a cannon helps reserve a lot of battery power. The SQUID doesn’t waste any battery power to launch and reach its primary altitude. As it is launched, arms with rotors pop out and lock into place. Once SQUID has reached its maximum trajectory altitude, it stabilizes for flight and begins working off of battery power. The navigation systems allow the drone to fly autonomously while gathering data below with the high definition camera. To test SQUID’s launch trajectory, stability, and flight capabilities, Amanda and her team launched the drone from the bed of a moving pickup truck, inside a wind tunnel, and from the center of one of Caltech’s soccer fields.

What makes SQUID unique and applicable is that there are many situations in which drones need to be rapidly and safely deployed. Current deployment means having to select a clear launch site, set up the drone, and manually launch before beginning flight. With SQUID, a drone can be instantly launched from any location without worrying about safety constraints. If emergency responders need to get rapid information on a situation at hand, be it a fire or rescue mission, the drone can be up in the air in a matter of seconds to relay vital information to ground crews. “SQUID has successfully demonstrated the ability to ballistically launch and transition into autonomous onboard control,” Amanda states. “This proof-of-concept system validates the viability of a ballistically-launched multirotor that deploys without human involvement, opening up new applications in fields such as disaster response, defense, and space exploration.”