China develops unmanned, air-ground vehicle for deliveries, rescue missions

BEIJING – Chinese scientists have developed an intelligent, autonomous air-ground vehicle, which can be used for deliveries and rescue missions.

Developed by a team from Tsinghua University, the unmanned electric vehicle can switch between ground working mode and flying mode. It has a four-wheel drive system and is equipped with a rotor to enable flight.

The vehicle, which is 1 meter long, 0.6 meters wide and 0.6 meters high, can conduct three-dimensional path planning, and can realize the functions of vertical takeoff and landing, spatial planning, hovering in the air and flight obstacle avoidance, according to the team.

With a real-time perception module, the vehicle can recognize different types of obstacle or terrain. When it encounters obstacles or terrain that cannot be bypassed on the ground, the vehicle can switch to flying mode and seek a more suitable area for driving on the ground. The efficient and smooth switch of working modes will help improve the efficiency of transportation.

The vehicle has been tested in both urban environment and mountain areas with complex terrain.

It can be used in delivering goods and for rescue missions, and it can be integrated into intelligent transportation systems in smart cities.