Roller-Quadrotor is a novel hybrid terrestrial and aerial quadrotor that combines the elevated maneuverability of the quadrotor with the lengthy endurance of the ground vehicle. This work presents the design, modeling, and experimental validation of Roller-Quadrotor. Flying is achieved through a quadrotor configuration, and four actuators providing thrust. Rolling is supported by unicycle-driven and rotor-assisted turning structure. During terrestrial locomotion, the vehicle needs to overcome rolling and turning resistance, thus saving energy compared to flight mode. This work overcomes the challenging problems of general rotorcraft, reduces energy consumption and allows to through special terrain, such as narrow gaps. It also solves the obstacle avoidance challenge faced by terrestrial robots by flying. We design the models and controllers for the vehicle. The experiment results show that it can switch between aerial and terrestrial locomotion, and be able to safely pass through a narrow gap half the size of its diameter. Besides, it is capable of rolling a distance approximately 3.8 times as much as flying or operating about 42.2 times as lengthy as flying. These results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the structure and control in rolling through special terrain and energy saving.

翻译：滚转四旋翼是一种新型的陆地与空中混合式四旋翼飞行器，它将四旋翼的高机动性与地面车辆的持久续航能力相结合。本文介绍了滚转四旋翼的设计、建模及实验验证。飞行功能通过四旋翼构型实现，由四个执行器提供推力；滚动功能则依靠单轮驱动与旋翼辅助转向结构完成。在陆地运动模式下，飞行器需克服滚动阻力和转向阻力，相比飞行模式能够节省能量。本研究克服了传统旋翼飞行器面临的挑战性难题，降低了能耗，并使其能够穿越狭窄缝隙等特殊地形；同时通过飞行能力解决了陆地机器人面临的避障难题。我们设计了飞行器的模型与控制器。实验结果表明，该飞行器可在空中与陆地两种运动模式间切换，并能安全穿过仅为其直径一半的狭窄缝隙。此外，其滚动行驶距离约为飞行距离的3.8倍，运行时长约为飞行模式的42.2倍。这些结果验证了该结构及控制方法在穿越特殊地形及节能滚动方面的可行性与有效性。