Shaping by Contact: Aerial In-Situ Toolmaking With a Variable-Stiffness Manipulator
Abstract
Toolmaking is a hallmark of biological intelligence, enabling organisms to manipulate unstructured environments. Translating this capability to micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) is fundamentally hindered by strict payload constraints that preclude carrying multiple specialized end-effectors. Here, we propose aerial in-situ toolmaking: a framework that reconceptualizes the environment from a collision hazard into a structural shaping resource. We developed a compact MAV equipped with a lightweight, jamming-based variable-stiffness manipulator. Rather than relying on heavy onboard actuators to determine its shape, the system leverages prescribed environmental contact to passively buckle the manipulator into functional geometries. An onboard vision policy evaluates this contact-induced morphology in real time, triggering a tendon-driven locking mechanism to rigidify the structure once the target shape is achieved. Bench characterization reveals that this active stiffness modulation magnifies the static load-bearing capacity by an order of magnitude (from 0.3 N to 3.3 N). Flight experiments successfully demonstrate the environment-assisted formation and locking of two task-specific planar morphologies—a hook and an L-shaped touch tool—prior to manually piloted payload lifting and switch triggering. These results provide a proof of concept for utilizing environmental physical constraints to generate functional tools mid-flight, offering a new paradigm for adaptable aerial interaction.