Build log
A dock that swaps the battery.
A small flying robot spends most of its life waiting on its dock. We want the dock to do more than charge it: to swap its battery, so it can go again at once. This is the concept, drawn but not yet built.
In short. Alkyon lands on a funnel that centres it, charges through spring pins, and a small arm beside it can lift its battery pack out with one squeeze and put a full one in. The pack is the robot’s lid, and you can swap it by hand too, with no tools. All of this is a concept: drawn, measured in software, not built.
The problem
A robot light enough to fly safely in a home carries a small battery. Its flights are measured in minutes, not hours, and charging takes longer than flying. A dock that only charges makes the robot wait; a dock that swaps the battery lets it answer you again straight away.
Landing where it should
The robot lands in its X shape on a pad with a shallow funnel. Whatever small error it lands with, the funnel slides it into place. Spring pins under its charging pads power it, and magnets in the pad meet magnets in the robot.
A small arm, outside the downwash
Beside the pad stands a small arm, outside the column of air the robot lands through. It turns about a column, reaches along a beam, and lifts high enough to clear the robot’s top while it moves. One squeeze of its fingers frees the pack and holds it.
A battery you can also swap by hand
The pack holds lithium-ion cells in a closed case with its own protection. Its lid is the robot’s graphite cap, so it comes out in one piece, and you can swap it by hand without tools. That matters for more than convenience: from 2027, EU law asks for batteries that users can replace themselves.
What is not decided
How many spare packs the dock holds, how fast a swap is, and what it costs. We will build the arm after the robot flies on the test stand, and publish the numbers here. Read more about Alkyon as an indoor drone.