Watch these quadrocopters play catch with a pole

This is quite the aerobatic ballet, watch as two quadrocopters play catch with each other using an "inverted pendulum" not only catching, but elegantly tossing it to the other in mid flight.


From Robohub:


"To achieve this feat, Dario and his supervisors Markus Hehn and Raffaello D’Andrea started with a 2D mathematical model. The goal of the model was to understand what motion a quadrocopter would need to perform to throw the pendulum. In other words, what is required for the pendulum to lift off from the quadrocopter and become airborne?

This first step allowed to determine (theoretical) feasibility. In addition, it showed the ideal trajectory in terms of positions, speeds, and angles the quadrocopter needed to follow to throw a pendulum. And it offered an insight into the throwing process, including identification of its key design parameters."

quite fun to watch

more here