Quadcopters learn as they fly
Engineers at the University of Sheffield are developing flying robots that can interact with humans, and each other, autonomously.
It is hoped that the quadcopters will play an important role in crisis situations such as search and rescue missions, and also be able to operate in hazardous environments.
In order to 'learn' about their surroundings, the robots have a forward facing camera that overlays different frames and selects key reference points within the scene, building up a 3D map of the world around them.
Other sensors pick up barometric and ultrasonic data, which gives them clues about their environment.
All of this information is then fed into autopilot software developed by the Sheffield team to allow the robot to navigate safely, but also learn about the objects nearby and navigate to specific items.
"We are used to the robots of science fiction films being able to act independently, recognise objects and individuals and make decisions," explained Professor Sandor Veres, who led the research. "In the real world, however, although robots can be extremely intelligent individually, their ability to co-operate and interact with each other and with humans is still very limited.
"As we develop robots for use in space or to send into nuclear environments – places where humans cannot easily go – the goal will be for them to understand their surroundings and make decisions based on that understanding."
Another key task for these robots is to be able to interact and co-operate with each other without overloading communications networks – a vital ability in emergency situations.
Programming developed by the Sheffield team enables the quadcopters to work out how to 'politely' fly past each other without colliding.
The researchers used a computer concept called game theory, which requires each robot to complete a given task in order to 'win'.
If the robots play the game repeatedly they start to learn each other's behaviour. They can then perform their task successfully – in this case getting past the other robot – by using previous experience to estimate the behaviour of the other robot.
"These simple tasks are part of a major research effort in the field of robotics at Sheffield University," said Prof Veres. "The next step is to extend the programming capability so that multiple robots can collaborate with each other, enabling fleets of machines to interact and collaborate on more complex tasks."