Alexis Rondeau

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Note · Monday, July 13, 2026 · 00:00

Autonomous Research with AI: "The snuggle is real" — evolving quadcopter frame geometry for Wh/km, with Claude as an occasional co-designer

An autoresearch loop — a genetic algorithm over fourteen genes of the real, open-source Source One V6 plate drawings, flown through six simulated weather scenarios, with Claude sitting in every few generations as an AI agent that proposes designs from the run’s own telemetry — evolved a 7-inch frame that flies 16% more efficiently (Wh/km) than the stock champion.

The research in nine slides

The bottom line

The run champion

The champion flying all 6 weather scenarios

The lineage trail: 80 generations, superimposed

The levers — 14 genes

1061 candidate frames

The research log

The family tree

Build it: the champion as five flat templates

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