Autonomous Robot Plane By MIT (+VIDEO)
MIT’s Robust Robotics Lab has designed a small robotic plane, able to fly autonomously indoors and execute manoeuvres around different obstacles. This stunning pilotless technology can fly indoors through tight obstacles and it surely might have a great number of applications in military field for rescue or surveillance operations. Nick Roy, the head of MIT’s robust robotics group claims, that fixed-wing aircrafts present “a more complicated and interesting problem, but also that it has a much longer flight time”. In order to define its place and orientation, the plane uses accelerators, gyroscopes and a laser rangefinder. One more challenge for the team is that the plane’s navigation system doesnât feature any GPS instrumentation, it is powered by an Intel Atom processor. At present the plane is provided with a digital map of it’s surroundings, what is to be done next is to equip it in such a way, for it to map independently its surroundings on the fly.
Via:dvice.com
