Self-Assembling Multi-Copter Demonstrates Networked Flight Control

cylonlover writes "Researchers at ETH Zurich have demonstrated an amazing capability for small robots to self-assemble and take to the air as a multi-rotor helicopter. Maximilian Kriegleder and Raymond Oung worked with Professor Raffaello D'Andrea at his research lab to develop the small hexagonal pods that assemble into flying rafts. The true accomplishment of this research is that there is not one robot in control – each unit in itself decides what actions to take to keep the group in the air in what's known as Distributed Flight Array."

Comments

Welcome!

[Pendletoncils]

I for one, welcome our new self assembling robot overlords.

Technology marches on

[wjcofkc]

For those who don't RTFA, I suggest you at least look at the 'summary' youtube video towards the bottom of the article, it's only a couple minutes long and is pretty awesome.

While this may not bare a commercial application in itself, it is still a big step forward in studying how robots can learn to react to each other as individuals while cooperating as a team. Again, while this implementation of the idea at hand may not directly have any obvious use other than research, it is that research and the basic premise behind it that will carry on into future applications we may not even understand yet. I know that there is a lot of research into autonomous cooperation between robots to achieve a goal, but this is stepping up the game.

As the years go by I am constantly fascinated as innovations and advancements in technology accelerate increasing rapidly. We are almost there, however, it has already become beyond impossible to understand just what 'there' will turn out to be. I think we'll know sooner than later.

Re:energy and commands by cable

[Max_W]

I am an amateur pilot of a quadrocopter and a cartographer of www.osm.org . A battery is not the way to go. It lasts 10 - 12 minutes.

The same about wi-fi; it is 50 - 70 meters into the air and "signal is lost".

To send a satellite into the space for cartography costs millions. But a stable quadrocopter with a cable of 1 kilometer or at least 500 meters would allow to make aero-imagery suitable for cartography cheap and fast .

Balloons with helium are messy and unstable.

Re:the units talk to each other..

[wjcofkc]

No. Each component represents and individual sensor array and its own individual main computer. They work and communicate as a team. From the freakin article:

The individual vehicles of the Distributed Flight Array have fixed propellers that can lift them into the air, but the resulting flight is erratic and uncontrolled. Joined together, however, these relatively simple modules evolve into a sophisticated multi-propeller system capable of coordinated flight. The task of keeping the array in level flight is distributed across the network of vehicles. Vehicles exchange information and combine this information with their own sensor measurements to determine how much thrust is needed for the array to take-off and maintain level flight. If the array’s leveled flight is disturbed, each vehicle individually determines the amount of thrust required to correct for the disturbance based on its position in the array and the array’s motion.

Consider reading my above comment Technology marches on. It leads with a suggestion specifically addressing those who don't RTFA - take a look and follow the advice.

Re:energy and commands by cable

[Infiniti2000]

But, can it fly with 1km of power cable hanging off it? My guess is about 125g / m, but even 1/5th that you can get 25g / m or 25kg of additional weight. That's as much as my 9yo son and I'm pretty sure the current rig couldn't lift him. Where are my numbers wrong or do you really think this is doable? I realize the flight time of current batteries is low, but there aren't many other options. Perhaps supplemented with solar energy or at worst a gas-power motor with an alternator.