Scientists in the Netherlands have unveiled the country’s first laboratory to study how small autonomous drones can imitate insects and perform a variety of tasks, from finding gas leaks in factories to search and rescue missions. .
Researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), called Swarming Lab, say they aim to send a “self-flying” swarm of 100 small drones into the air, capable of performing tasks around the clock. said.
This includes drones that land on their own in a charging pod and take off again to continue flying without human intervention.
“We are working to make these robots not only aware of each other, but also to work together to complete complex tasks,” said Guido de, Director of the Swarming Lab at Delft University of Technology. Clune said.
The mission involves the small drones, which weigh as much as a golf ball or an egg, to “sniff out” gas leaks inside factories.
A swarm of autonomous drones equipped with gas-detecting sensors will be able to fly autonomously around the factory until one drone detects a trace of gas.
It then uses onboard sensors to “call” to other drones to help in the search, while tracking the “smell” of the gas.
“Similarly, swarms of drones can be used to detect forest fires or to provide continuous support for search and rescue operations over large areas,” DeKroon said.
Scientists are trying to use research on how swarms of bees, ants, or birds behave to program swarms of drones to do the same.
“Drone swarm technology is the idea that if we look at nature, many animals like ants may not be very smart individually, but when they act together… they do things they could never do alone. ” said De. Clune said. “We want to build the same functionality into robots,” DeKroon said.
This led scientists to observe how birds and insects flock together “using very simple behaviors.”
For example, a bird “looks at its closest neighbor in the flock and doesn’t want to collide with it, so it’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to get that close,'” de Kroon said. However, “I also don’t want to be the only one separated from the herd.”
they match each other. And by following such simple rules, you get beautiful patterns that are very useful for both birds and predators,” he told AFP.
“At that level, we’re trying to draw inspiration and create such simple rules not only for robots, but also for the applications we want to work on.”
But scientists acknowledge there are some challenges.
“A swarm is a complex system,” Professor de Kroon said during a demonstration of the technology at the swarming lab at Delft University of Technology’s Science Center. “A single robot can do simple things within a swarm. It can be done.” “But with these simple rules, it’s actually very difficult to predict how the whole herd will behave,” DeKroon said.
The robot’s small size also limits the amount of technology, such as sensors and onboard computing power, that small drones can carry.
Today, the Swarming Lab’s drones still rely on externally mounted cameras to give the buzzing beasts information about their position within the swarm.
But researchers have already developed technology that allows robots to sense each other without outside help. And they wouldn’t be the first: In 2022, scientists from China’s Zhejiang University successfully flew 10 autonomous drones through a dense bamboo forest.
Swarming Lab is currently working with a startup called Emergent, run by former Delft University of Technology students, and is using around 40 small drones in its research.
“The goal is to eventually have swarms of around 100 drones in the sky over the next five years,” said Emergent co-founder Lennart Bult.
Ultimately, de Kroon said, “it would be really cool to actually get even a little closer to the amazing intelligence of little creatures like bees.”