Morphy: a Compliant and Morphologically-Aware Flying Robot

We present *Morphy*, a novel Compliant and Morphologically-aware Flying Robot that integrates sensorized flexible joints in its arms, thus enabling resilient collisions at high speeds and the ability to squeeze through openings more narrow than its nominal dimensions. The sensorized soft joints include 3D Hall-effect sensors therefore delivering real-time updates for the robot’s adapting morphology, especially during collisions and other instances of physical interaction. Morphy weighs only 260 g including its battery, camera, time-of-flight depth sensing and advanced 8-core processor meaning that it is “autonomy-capable“. The complete frame is built through adaptive manufacturing techniques, including elastic resin printing. Morphy represents a new class of soft-flying robots that can facilitate unprecedented resilience through innovations both in the “body“ and “brain.“ The novel soft body can, in turn, enable new avenues for autonomy. Collisions that previously had