Synchronization of drones: if you are so smart, why don't you fly?
Hi, Giktayms!
How many over the past couple of years we have all heard incredible stories about pizza drones, copters falling on sports fields and saw incredible videos about how small four- (six, eight, to your taste) screw robots create different impressive things in the air ? How many examples have we seen of the implementation of copters on various –duino? I think each of you has a favorite movie about drones, and if not, that is (or was) the secret dream of having some conditional DJIPhantom 3 for yourself to finally enslave the world to properly figure out how it all the same works.
But while we are surprised, crazy things are happening in the world of copters. Craftsmen from around the world (this equally applies to individual technical talents, and to large companies) teach drones to fly in formation. This is today's article.
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Copter engineering technologies took a great step forward with the appearance of the first available samples - at this moment, small aviation enthusiasts (that's what they call it, right?) Were able to try the first products in this market and start making their own. But for each owner of drones there will be another drone meticulously - so why not program their behavior so that air shows (or useful actions?) Are not only impressive, but also effective?
KMel Robotics
No sooner said than done, the most famous example of synchronization of copters was the development of KMelRobotics in the laboratory GRASPLab at the University of Pennsylvania.
The development of KMelRobotics includes a special balancing system and the ability of drones to interact with each other. The key to success lies in the ability of the copters to work autonomously, to bypass obstacles and not interfere (and, most importantly, do not confuse) the logic of the rest of the copters in the “swarm”.
Not only flights
After the demonstration of the capabilities of drones to move purposefully in space and not to knock each other, the question arises: why can one use such unexpectedly appeared help?
For example, the following video demonstrates the ability of several copters to build cubic structures independently of each other (but, while working as a team).
If you increase the size of quadcopters and their payload, then you can imagine how with the help of this interaction houses are built - and this, for a second, leads to a significant reduction in the construction time of facilities. In addition, a scenario of using such a “swarm” for unloading containers with cargoes is presented.
Welcome to the real world
Unfortunately, not everything is so simple. All the above technologies can work only in the laboratory, using MotionCapture to control movement and determine the position of robots. If you remove this system (and GPS, for example), then all the magic will falter a bit and you will have to invent something else.
But science does not work in vain. At MIT, a kopter with a laser orientation system (and Kinect on board) was developed, which is able to build maps of unfamiliar premises and identify different objects.
In the video, the robot first enters the building and on the fly (in the literal and figurative sense) builds a three-dimensional map of the room, having the opportunity to decide on where to go next.
More information about this system can be found here in this document .
Several copters, equipped with such a system, and acting together, are quite ways to carry out work on finding some specific objects in destroyed buildings, assess damages and eliminate human risks.
Shake but do not mix
If you take any existing technology, the global experience of its use suggests that it can be used to fool around. Still, this is a science, and nobody canceled experiments (and Friday).
In the next video, twelve copters perform on nine musical instruments a theme from James Bond films. The creators of the video, Alexey Kushelev and Daniel Mellinger, claim that it took three days to create it.
(video itself)
(Making Of)
What else?
And with the help of synchronized Copters, you can make beautiful air shows, pleasing the eye. Just watch.
Linz, Austria, ArsElectronicaFutureLab
Light show based on Copters from the same KMelRobotics
Conclusion
If desired, you can come up with many scenarios for the use of synchronized flying robots - from participation in production lines or construction to some kind of military purposes. Drones have already been successfully used to assess the destruction of buildings after earthquakes or to detect all sorts of leaks. So far, however, everything is mainly limited to beautiful shows and demonstrations of the possibilities of technology. But the time is not far off when such things become common and widespread for humanity and go beyond the scope of toys for geeks.
As for us, we are also now actively experimenting with the synchronization of drones, and on November 1 we plan to present our own “ballet” at SMIT. It will be a small show in which a certain number of quadcopters synchronously and with music will make movements that can be compared with dance steps. At the moment, the project is at the programming stage, but by the beginning of November it will definitely be completed. And if the experiment succeeds by 100%, then, who knows, maybe the Russian drones show will appear. True, the world palm is already occupied by the Dutch project AIR 2015 .
How many over the past couple of years we have all heard incredible stories about pizza drones, copters falling on sports fields and saw incredible videos about how small four- (six, eight, to your taste) screw robots create different impressive things in the air ? How many examples have we seen of the implementation of copters on various –duino? I think each of you has a favorite movie about drones, and if not, that is (or was) the secret dream of having some conditional DJIPhantom 3 for yourself to finally enslave the world to properly figure out how it all the same works.
But while we are surprised, crazy things are happening in the world of copters. Craftsmen from around the world (this equally applies to individual technical talents, and to large companies) teach drones to fly in formation. This is today's article.
')
Copter engineering technologies took a great step forward with the appearance of the first available samples - at this moment, small aviation enthusiasts (that's what they call it, right?) Were able to try the first products in this market and start making their own. But for each owner of drones there will be another drone meticulously - so why not program their behavior so that air shows (or useful actions?) Are not only impressive, but also effective?
KMel Robotics
No sooner said than done, the most famous example of synchronization of copters was the development of KMelRobotics in the laboratory GRASPLab at the University of Pennsylvania.
The development of KMelRobotics includes a special balancing system and the ability of drones to interact with each other. The key to success lies in the ability of the copters to work autonomously, to bypass obstacles and not interfere (and, most importantly, do not confuse) the logic of the rest of the copters in the “swarm”.
Not only flights
After the demonstration of the capabilities of drones to move purposefully in space and not to knock each other, the question arises: why can one use such unexpectedly appeared help?
For example, the following video demonstrates the ability of several copters to build cubic structures independently of each other (but, while working as a team).
If you increase the size of quadcopters and their payload, then you can imagine how with the help of this interaction houses are built - and this, for a second, leads to a significant reduction in the construction time of facilities. In addition, a scenario of using such a “swarm” for unloading containers with cargoes is presented.
Welcome to the real world
Unfortunately, not everything is so simple. All the above technologies can work only in the laboratory, using MotionCapture to control movement and determine the position of robots. If you remove this system (and GPS, for example), then all the magic will falter a bit and you will have to invent something else.
But science does not work in vain. At MIT, a kopter with a laser orientation system (and Kinect on board) was developed, which is able to build maps of unfamiliar premises and identify different objects.
In the video, the robot first enters the building and on the fly (in the literal and figurative sense) builds a three-dimensional map of the room, having the opportunity to decide on where to go next.
More information about this system can be found here in this document .
Several copters, equipped with such a system, and acting together, are quite ways to carry out work on finding some specific objects in destroyed buildings, assess damages and eliminate human risks.
Shake but do not mix
If you take any existing technology, the global experience of its use suggests that it can be used to fool around. Still, this is a science, and nobody canceled experiments (and Friday).
In the next video, twelve copters perform on nine musical instruments a theme from James Bond films. The creators of the video, Alexey Kushelev and Daniel Mellinger, claim that it took three days to create it.
(video itself)
(Making Of)
What else?
And with the help of synchronized Copters, you can make beautiful air shows, pleasing the eye. Just watch.
Linz, Austria, ArsElectronicaFutureLab
Light show based on Copters from the same KMelRobotics
Conclusion
If desired, you can come up with many scenarios for the use of synchronized flying robots - from participation in production lines or construction to some kind of military purposes. Drones have already been successfully used to assess the destruction of buildings after earthquakes or to detect all sorts of leaks. So far, however, everything is mainly limited to beautiful shows and demonstrations of the possibilities of technology. But the time is not far off when such things become common and widespread for humanity and go beyond the scope of toys for geeks.
As for us, we are also now actively experimenting with the synchronization of drones, and on November 1 we plan to present our own “ballet” at SMIT. It will be a small show in which a certain number of quadcopters synchronously and with music will make movements that can be compared with dance steps. At the moment, the project is at the programming stage, but by the beginning of November it will definitely be completed. And if the experiment succeeds by 100%, then, who knows, maybe the Russian drones show will appear. True, the world palm is already occupied by the Dutch project AIR 2015 .
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/366435/
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