A 10-gram vision-based flying robot

Zufferey, Jean-Christophe; Klaptocz, Adam; Beyeler, Antoine; Nicoud, Jean-Daniel; Floreano, Dario

doi:10.1163/156855307782227417

Cited by 41 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…The addition of lateral optic flow sensors also allowed a fixed-wing drone to detect near-ground obstacles 55 . Optic flow has also been used to perform both collision-free navigation and altitude control of indoor 56 and outdoor 57 fixed-wing drones without a GPS. In these drones, the roll angle was regulated by optic flow in the horizontal direction and the pitch angle was regulated by optic flow in the vertical direction, while the ground speed was measured and maintained by wind-speed sensors.…”

Section: Review Insightmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Science, technology and the future of small autonomous drones

Floreano

Wood

2015

Nature

Self Cite

1,047

552

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Drones, a popular nickname for unmanned aerial vehicles and micro aerial vehicles, often conjure up images of unmanned aeroplanes that fly thousands of miles for espionage and to deploy munitions. However, over the past few years, an increasing number of public and private research laboratories have been working on small, human-friendly drones that one day may autonomously fly in confined spaces and in close proximity to people. The development of these small drones, which is the main focus of this Review, has been supported by the miniaturization and cost reduction of electronic components (microprocessors, sensors, batteries and wireless communication units), largely driven by the portable electronic device industry. These improvements have enabled the prototyping and commercialization of small (typically less than 1 kg) drones at smartphone prices.Small drones will have important socio-economic impacts (Fig. 1). Images from drones that are capable of flying a few metres above the ground will fill a gap between expensive, weather-dependent and lowresolution images provided by satellites and car-based images limited to human-level perspectives and the availability of accessible roads. Specialized flying cameras and cloud-based data analytics will allow farmers to continuously monitor the quality of crop growth. Such platforms will enable construction companies to measure work progress in real time. Drones will let mining companies obtain precise volumetric data of excavations. Energy and infrastructure companies will be able to exhaustively survey pipelines, roads and cables. Humanitarian organizations could immediately assess and adapt aid efforts in continuously changing refugee camps. Transportation drones that are capable of safely taking off and landing in the proximity of buildings and humans will allow developing countries -without a suitable road network -to rapidly deliver goods and to finally unleash the full potential of their e-commerce telecommunication infrastructure. Transportation drones will also help developed countries to improve the quality of service in congested or remote areas, and will enable rescue organizations to quickly deliver medical supplies in the field and on demand. Inspection drones that are capable of flying in confined spaces will help fire-fighting and emergency units to assess dangers faster and more safely, logistic companies to detect cracks in the inner and outer shells of ships, road maintenance companies to measure signs of wear and tear in bridges and tunnels, security companies to improve building safety by monitoring areas outside the range of surveillance cameras, and disaster mitigation agencies to inspect partially collapsed buildings where ground clutter is an obstacle for terrestrial robots. Coordinated teams of autonomous drones will enable missions that last longer than the flight time of a single drone by allowing some drones to temporarily leave the team for battery replacement. Drone teams will permit rescue organizations to quickly deploy dedicated commu...

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Section: Review Insightmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, some authors [55][56][57] have resorted to using the multiple optic flow sensors found in computer optical mice. Whereas others 68,69 have developed neuromorphic chips that not only extract optic flow, but also adapt to the large variety of light intensities that can be experienced when flying in confined spaces.…”

Section: Review Insightmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science, technology and the future of small autonomous drones

Floreano

Wood

2015

Nature

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1,047

552

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“…They, became smaller and lighter than their predecessors, reaching true points of excellence. Consider, for example, the MC2 EPFL, a 5-gram fixed wing aircraft made of carbon fibers and thin films Mylar [6] [7] or MicroGlider developed by Wood and colleagues [8].…”

Section: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Uav): General Presentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed Communication and Control for Multiagent Systems: Microindustrial Vehicle Rotors (Mav)

LUCHIAN¹,

Boșcoianu²

2018

AFASES 2018

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“…The on-board actuators and electronics consists of (a) a 4 mm geared motor with a lightweight carbon-fiber propeller, (b) two magnet-in-a-coil actuators controlling the rudder and the elevator, (c) a microcontroller board with a Bluetooth wireless communication module and a ventral camera with its pitch rate gyro, (d) a front camera with its yaw rate gyro, (e) an anemometer, and (f) a 65 mAh lithium-polymer battery. Reprinted from [25]. The anemometer is compared to a given setpoint to output a signal that is used to proportionally drive the engine in order to maintain airspeed reasonably constant.…”

Section: Vision-based Flightmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aerial Locomotion in Cluttered Environments

Floreano¹,

Zufferey²,

Klaptocz³

et al. 2016

Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics

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Many environments where robots are expected to operate are cluttered with objects, walls, debris, and different horizontal and vertical structures. In this chapter, we present four design features that allow small robots to rapidly and safely move in 3 dimensions through cluttered environments: a perceptual system capable of detecting obstacles in the robot's surroundings, including the ground, with minimal computation, mass, and energy requirements; a flexible and protective framework capable of withstanding collisions and even using collisions to learn about the properties of the surroundings when light is not available; a mechanism for temporarily perching to vertical structures in order to monitor the environment or communicate with other robots before taking off again; and a self-deployment mechanism for getting in the air and perform repetitive jumps or glided flight. We conclude the chapter by suggesting future avenues for integration of multiple features within the same robotic platform.

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A 10-gram vision-based flying robot

Cited by 41 publications

References 24 publications

Science, technology and the future of small autonomous drones

Science, technology and the future of small autonomous drones

Distributed Communication and Control for Multiagent Systems: Microindustrial Vehicle Rotors (Mav)

Aerial Locomotion in Cluttered Environments

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