In-flight hand : a preliminary study for puppetry with a drone

This master's thesis aims to lay the first steps towards the preparation of a live show where drones would lift the animated limbs of different characters. This project in art and technology is part of Julia Zamboni's ongoing research on the semblance of life in machines. The goal of the project is to develop a flying arm system, with a robotic arm serving as the "puppet". This work presents the construction process, and future automation prospects. First, the robotic arm will be developed using rapid prototyping techniques. Afterwards, a quadcopter will be designed to lift this arm, and the compatibility of it's movements with the arm's will be reviewed. Following that, the ground work for automation of this drone will be laid by developing a low-level controller suitable for the unusual profile of the drone-arm pair. Finally, it's viability will be validated trough a Simulink simulation.