The Pegasus Family is named after a winged horse from Greek mythology and true to its name, is just as much of a modern marvel as Pegasus was a mythological one. These transformable robots from Robotic Research in Gaithersburg, Maryland, function similarly, as hybrid devices that combine the advantages of both airborne and ground vehicles. The origin of the Pegasus family stemmed from the governments’ customers who wanted something that wasn’t the generic UAV or UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle). Ground robots would struggle to move over rubble, move over walls, climb stairs, get into confined spaces, or reach regions that needed extensive climbing whereas operations often required them to do so. With UAVs too, the battery capacity of about 30 minutes proved to be quite a bit of a hindrance.

After six months of the government’s customers stating their concerns, Robotic Research addressed their problems with the prototype developed with funding from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the US Army Armament Research Development and Engineering Center. The prototype was built entirely from parts that weren’t foreign-made.

The final Pegasus was first unveiled in 2019 at the AVUSI Unmanned Systems – Defense, Protection, Security Conference in Washington to bring together “military leadership, defense experts and supply chain serving those markets to dig into how unmanned and autonomous systems are changing the landscape of military and intelligence and what that means for procurement, technology development, and interagency collaboration” as said by AUVSI Robotic Research.

The Pegasus robots, with their ability to fly past obstacles and at the same time drive when there’s no necessity for flight, are sure to impede conventional UGVs and UAVs by giving them a far greater edge over these in terms of usability and endurance. Alberto Lacaze, the president of Robotic Research stated that these are a whole new category of robots, unlike anything the market has ever seen before. With no other model coming even close to the Pegasus in terms of versatility, its clientele is bound to go beyond just the military might find applications in the commercial sectors too.

In a nutshell, Pegasus is a series of strategically deployable, transformable, autonomous robotic systems that combine the air capabilities of a VTOL UAS with those of a tracked UGV. Artificial intelligence (AI) is integrated into the Pegasus series, allowing the vehicles to avoid obstacles and develop comprehensive 3D maps in any area automatically with the help of integration with ground systems.

The Pegasus family consists of three models, the Pegasus II, a mid-size aircraft with mapping and situational awareness capabilities, the Pegasus III, a bigger heavy-lift aircraft, and the Pegasus Mini, a compact back-packable aircraft that fits into tight locations. Each of these is a fine amalgamation of flying and driving capabilities in a sole device. This comes with the added advantage of lesser weight, cost, and operator training. All models can be controlled using the Pocket Universal Controller Kit, also known as PUCK, which can send autonomous missions to more than one system at a time.

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In line with their hybrid nature, the Pegasus robots all feature four rotors, allowing them to take off and land vertically (VTOL). They also include a pair of tracks that spin up to form propeller guards in air mode to protect the rotors while flying indoors or in confined places, similar to tank treads. Because UAV rotors are noisy, prospective opponents are immediately alerted. If a Pegasus robot wants to keep an eye on a target, it can land securely in the center of a rooftop or sneak up to the edge on its tracks, allowing for silent and seamless operations. This is very useful when you have a lot of terrain or buildings, and you want to produce a 3D map to make sure there are no impediments that could hinder the mission.

Though not designed for extended missions, the Pegasus’ hybrid nature provides an endurance advantage in some situations because it does not have to remain in flight continually. When a Pegasus enters sustained flight mode, however, its tracks rotate upwards, changing the center of gravity to increase aerodynamic steadiness. This gives the cameras a 360-degree range of vision and protects the rotors from damage, especially indoors with the added advantage that all three versions can pass through a standard doorway or window. The Pegasus drones can fly for up to 30 minutes, but they can drive for considerably longer on the same battery, ranging from 2 to 8 hours for the Pegasus III.

The Pegasus wasn’t the first drone of its sort. Previously, the Department of Defense developed a family of throwable robots that could be flung over barriers. However, because they are typically not particularly capable ground vehicles, and because there is no one on the opposite side to throw them back, soldiers are frequently forced to penetrate dangerous regions to retrieve these assets. Pegasus robots on the other hand can easily fly back after flying over barriers to complete their objectives.

The command connection of an autonomous system maybe both, a means of salvation and a flaw, subject to everything from thick terrain to weather and enemy interference. To address these issues, Robotic Research built redundant control, communication, and navigation systems into the Pegasus series, starting with their capacity to complete missions independently and capture surveillance data internally if their command connection is lost. Furthermore, the drones employ inertial navigation systems (INS) based on Robotic Research’s WarLoc “boot-box” system to monitor dismounted people even when GPS is unavailable. Unlike standard INS systems, each WarLoc utilizes a radio to build a dispersed network with other adjacent WarLoc devices, allowing them to keep a more accurate track of their relative locations. Embedded Modules created by Persistent Systems were also included in Robotic’s Pegasus II and III drones to provide stable radio connectivity.

A mesh network relays signals in addition to WarLoc. Several radios can mesh, but only a handful that doesn’t greatly increase latency when doing hops. If you have to jump the stations 2-3 times, you’ll notice a delay of a second or two. It’s essential to have something that can mesh and penetrate, as well as perform all of this with minimal bandwidth and low latency. Swarming AI behavior, in which several drones collaborate to complete complicated tasks based on simple instruction, relies heavily on the distributed radio network.

The three variants of the Pegasus include the Pegasus Mini, Pegasus II, and Pegasus III. The Pegasus Mini is a compact pegasus model that is small enough to fit into a backpack and is designed particularly for surveillance roles in cramped spaces. The Pegasus II on the other hand has twice the maximum payload as the Mini and can also carry CBRNE hazard sensors. It is still quite small and can be easily carried around. Lastly, the Pegasus III can carry anywhere between 10 to 20 pounds of payloads and has a much more flexible gimbal camera. It can operate in GPS denied environments and has over eight hours of operability in ground mode and 30 minutes of flight time. Adding to this, it can save all data for post-processing, including video, 3D maps, and location information and is capable of carrying larger 3D LIDARs.