From Blade Runner 2049 to Star Wars: Episode III, many of the most popular sci-fi blockbusters include swarms of flying cars.
Scientists have now been inspired by these films to train swarms of drones to move through dense forests with expert precision.
The team from Zhejiang University took amazing shots of a swarm of 10 bright blue drones circling through a bamboo forest in China.
Citing the science fiction blockbusters, the Xing Zhou-led team wrote, “Here, we are taking a step forward (towards) such a future.”
Scientists have been inspired by science fiction blockbusters, including Blade Runner 2049, to train swarms of drones to navigate dense forests with expert precision.
In the 2017 blockbuster, Blade Runner 2049, lively but tidy flying cars skillfully move among skyscrapers
How can drone swarms be used?
Because these drones do not rely on any external infrastructure, such as GPS, swarms can be used during natural disasters.
For example, they can be sent to areas affected by an earthquake to investigate the damage and identify where to send aid or to buildings where it is dangerous to send people.
It is certainly possible to use single drones in such scenarios, but a swarm approach would be much more effective, especially given the limited flight time.
Another possible use is for the swarm to lift and deliver heavy objects.
There is a darker side: swarms can be armed by the military, just as remote-controlled single drones are today.
The palm-sized robots are specially designed, with depth cameras, altitude sensors and an on-board computer.
The biggest advances were an intelligent algorithm that included collision avoidance, flight efficiency, and swarm coordination.
The team is testing its drones in a variety of scenarios – swarming through the bamboo forest, avoiding other drones in a high-traffic experiment, and getting the robots to follow suit.
“Our work was inspired by birds that fly smoothly in a free swarm even through very dense forests,” Zhou wrote in a blog post.
The challenge, he said, is to balance competing requirements: the need for small, light machines, but with high computing power, and plotting safe trajectories without significantly extending flight time.
Because these drones do not rely on any external infrastructure, such as GPS, swarms can be used during natural disasters.
For example, they can be sent to areas affected by an earthquake to investigate the damage and identify where to send aid or to buildings where it is dangerous to send people.
It is certainly possible to use single drones in such scenarios, but a swarm approach would be much more effective, especially given the limited flight time.
Another possible use is for the swarm to lift and deliver heavy objects.
There is a darker side: swarms can be armed with military forces, just as remotely piloted single drones are today.
The Pentagon has repeatedly expressed interest and conducted its own tests.
“Military research is not shared with the rest of the world openly, so it is difficult to imagine the stage of its development,” said Enrica Soria, a robot at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne who was not involved in the study. .
But the progress shared in scientific journals can certainly be used for military purposes.
Drone swarms have been tested in the past, but either in open environments without obstacles or with a programmed location of those obstacles.
The palm-sized robots are specially designed, with depth cameras, altitude sensors and an on-board computer. The biggest advances were the intelligent algorithm, which included collision avoidance, flight efficiency and swarm coordination.
“This is the first time there has been a swarm of drones successfully flying out in an unstructured environment, in the wild,” Ms Soria said, adding that the experiment was “impressive”.
For Ms. Soria, it may be only a few years before we see such drones used in real life.
First, however, they will have to be tested in ultra-dynamic environments such as cities, where they will constantly encounter people and vehicles.
The regulations will also have to catch up, which takes extra time, Ms Soria said.
HOW CLOSE IS A BROKEN BETWEEN PLANES AND DRONS?
Near skipping is a common term used to describe encounters between different on-board vehicles.
Operated by Airprox, no specific distance is specified, instead it is measured by the opinions of the pilot, air traffic controller and drone operator.
Earlier this year, a report of an “almost leak” between a police drone and two fighter jets traveling at 520 miles per hour was filed.
Operated by Airprox, no specific distance is specified, instead measured by the opinions of the pilot, air traffic controller and drone operator
The Devon and Cornwall officer was convinced there would be a collision when the warplane came into view.
The Airprox board said the 13-pound device was flying at an altitude of about 300 feet when the pilot heard an approaching fast jet.
The F-15 pilot, who was flying at an altitude of 500 feet, could not see the drone, but the drone pilot said the risk of a collision was “high”.
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