Everyone
has a wish list and so, apparently, do branches of the military. What’s on the United States Air Force’s wish
list? Well, it’s not exactly your
typical Christmas list. Instead of
“visions of” dancing “sugarplums,” the Air Force dreams of “flocks.” Flocks of small flying drones. At least, this is what’s on the Air Force’s
“wish list” according to TechNewsDaily.com.
And if this
remarkable (and “must-see”) video is any indication, the U.S. Air Force is a
few steps closer to getting its wish with one of the latest developments of the
University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Lab.
The small
drones in the video are called “nano” drones because they are small. But, specifically, these are called nano
“quadrotors.”
What’s a
quadrotor?
Well, first
of all, a quadrotor is also called a “quadrocopter” – a name that gives you
more of “feel” for what the drone looks like and how it operates. Maybe the best solution is to call these
things “nano quadrotor helicopters.”
Surprisingly,
quadrotors aren’t a new idea. In fact,
in the history of heaver-than-air flight, quadrotors are a very old idea. And the “quad’s” got off the drawing board and off the ground. In the 1920’s and 30’s quadrotors became some
of the first successful vertical take-off and landing vehicles.
And that
was the problem.
They were
great at vertical take-offs and landings, but impossible to maneuver in any
other way. Well, maybe, not
impossible. Just impossible for any
human pilot. The physical, moment to
moment, individual manipulation of each of the four rotors was impossibly
complicated.
The recent
re-emergence of quadrotors resulted from (1) sophisticated on-board sensors and
(2) computers. With the ability to
precisely track the quadrotors position in relation to the ground and computers to just as precisely
manipulate the rotor speed, the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) version of the
quadrotors has become not just practical, but popular. The amazing stability provided by the four
rotor design is so good, that you can even fly mini (nano) versions of the
quadrotor indoors.
But back to
the swarm of quadrotors. Let’s start
with the University of Pennsylvania and peal back a few layers of the
“development onion.”
The
University operates the GRASP Lab. GRASP
stands for General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception
(Laboratory). The lab integrates
computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. GRASP is staffed by the University’s
students, researchers and faculty.
The Lab’s
“Scalable Swarms of Autonomous Robots and Mobile Sensors” Project was explained
by U of P Professor Vijay Kumar as an effort to describe the swarming habits
found in nature and reproduce these “habits” in “networked groups of
autonomously functioning vehicles.”
But let’s
peal back yet another layer.
In 2007,
two U of P graduate students, Alex Kushleyev and Daniel Mellinger met and both
worked in the GRASP Lab. After
graduating, they continued their collaboration and focus on quadrotors. In late 2011, they founded KMel Robotics and
rented office space from the University.
For now, KMel continues to develop swarming robot technology. Both Kushleyey and Mellinger, still, work
with the GRASP Lab and the University on particular projects.
But KMel is
self-supporting -- without producing a regular line of products. And they’re not planning to jump into the
mass-produced drone market. KMel is well
ahead of the curve in Nano UAV technology, and they both market and sell “their
lead.” KMel designs and builds custom
quadrotor hardware (and software) for other researchers who don’t have the time
or the expertise to do so on their own.
But to the
point. How does the “swarm” work? The secret of the swarm is in the use CGI
technology borrowed from Hollywood. Each
of KMel’s quadrotor carries a small mirror-like sphere which is tracked by
motion-capture cameras. In Hollywood
film-making, a computer uses the tracked positions of these spheres on film to
create and insert computer generated motion graphics. But with KMel’s system, each quadrotor’s
position is fed into a laptop which, in turn, commands each quadrotor to move
in coordination with the group. And,
viewing the video, the resulting precision movements of that group are
impressive.
Quadrotors Hollywood Style
KMel is
more than a few steps ahead of the curve in “quad-swarm” technology. But
another step will have to be taken before the U.S. Air Force gets its
wish. KMel’s precision flying
quadrotors, still, are not a “true swarm.”
Each quadrotor is controlled from a remote laptop. The laptop’s transmitted commands to each
quadrotor cause the group to imitate the behavior of swarm. And that’s the problem. The individual quadrotors aren’t doing what
swarming creatures do – in nature.
To be a
swarm, each quadrotor would have to individually sense the position and
movement of the quadrotors around it, directly, and respond to their
movements. Instead, the current
technology uses a camera to remotely observe the group. The camera’s images are read by a
computer. Then, the computer transmits
commands that choreograph the quads into predefined patterns of group position
and movement. Can quadrotors be developed to operate together as a “true
swarm?” Although such technology doesn’t
exist, KMel is working on it -- as I write.
Someday,
soon, the U. S. Air Force will get its wish.
And, I can’t wait to see that video.
A swarm of flying drones would really be cool to see – as long as it’s
not chasing me.
Vijay Kumar: Robots that fly ... and cooperate
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