Larry Dighera
November 6th 15, 03:06 PM
<http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/MIT-Drone-Avoids-Obstacles-Autonomously-225143-1.html>
MIT Drone Avoids Obstacles Autonomously
By Mary Grady
[PHOTO: a drone's-eye view]
A researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has flight-tested a
drone that can detect obstacles and avoid them in fight without any input from
an operator, MIT said this week. Andrew Barry, a graduate student in the
school’s artificial-intelligence lab, has tested the system in a tree-filled
field at speeds of about 30 mph. The drone autonomously dips, dives and changes
direction to fly safely through the trees. Barry’s stereo-vision algorithm
enables the drone to detect objects and build a full map of its surroundings in
real time. The software, which is open-source and available online
<https://github.com/andybarry/flight>, operates at 120 frames per second.
Barry said the system works because he realized that rather than trying to
build a full map of the drone’s flight path, the drone really only needs to
know what’s about 10 meters away — that gives it enough time to react and avoid
the obstacle. “You don’t have to know about anything that’s closer or further
than that,” Barry says. “As you fly, you push that 10-meter horizon forward,
and, as long as your first 10 meters are clear, you can build a full map of the
world around you.” Barry says that he plans to further improve the algorithms
so they can work at more than one depth, and in environments as dense as a
thick forest. The test drone, which weighs just over a pound and has a 34-inch
wingspan, was made from off-the-shelf components costing about $1,700,
including a camera on each wing and two processors “no fancier than the ones
you’d find on a cellphone,” according to MIT.
VIDEO: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_qah8oIzCwk>
MIT Drone Avoids Obstacles Autonomously
By Mary Grady
[PHOTO: a drone's-eye view]
A researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has flight-tested a
drone that can detect obstacles and avoid them in fight without any input from
an operator, MIT said this week. Andrew Barry, a graduate student in the
school’s artificial-intelligence lab, has tested the system in a tree-filled
field at speeds of about 30 mph. The drone autonomously dips, dives and changes
direction to fly safely through the trees. Barry’s stereo-vision algorithm
enables the drone to detect objects and build a full map of its surroundings in
real time. The software, which is open-source and available online
<https://github.com/andybarry/flight>, operates at 120 frames per second.
Barry said the system works because he realized that rather than trying to
build a full map of the drone’s flight path, the drone really only needs to
know what’s about 10 meters away — that gives it enough time to react and avoid
the obstacle. “You don’t have to know about anything that’s closer or further
than that,” Barry says. “As you fly, you push that 10-meter horizon forward,
and, as long as your first 10 meters are clear, you can build a full map of the
world around you.” Barry says that he plans to further improve the algorithms
so they can work at more than one depth, and in environments as dense as a
thick forest. The test drone, which weighs just over a pound and has a 34-inch
wingspan, was made from off-the-shelf components costing about $1,700,
including a camera on each wing and two processors “no fancier than the ones
you’d find on a cellphone,” according to MIT.
VIDEO: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_qah8oIzCwk>