Gone with the Wind? Not This Self-Balancing Drone-Powered Pole
Keeping a pole balanced vertically on a single point is a classic control problem. Even the slightest disturbance will cause it to start falling, and once that happens, a control system has to react quickly enough to push it back in the opposite direction. Peter Ryseck took on that challenge with a self-balancing pole that uses drone motors to keep itself standing for hours at a time.
The setup looks a bit like a quadcopter attached to the end of a long stick, but the motors never need to lift it. Nearly all of its weight is transferred through the pole directly into the ground. The four motors at the top only provide horizontal forces that counteract a fall, which means they can spend most of their time producing very little thrust.
Ryseck built the pole from a carbon fiber shaft salvaged from a swimming pool cleaning net. A 3D-printed...
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