Indoor UAV Doesn’t Need No GPS
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Friday, 9 of April , 2010 at 1:58 am
Autonomous UAVs tend to be heavily dependent on GPS. GPS is pretty awesome, after all… Being able to pinpoint your location anywhere on Earth makes navigation a snap. GPS doesn’t work indoors, however, so robots that need to get around inside have to rely on different technologies. MIT’s Robust Robotics Group has developed a UAV (the same as this one, it looks like) that can autonomously navigate through unmapped indoor environments using a laser scanner and some clever software. The robot creates a map as it goes, and can search for objects at the same time, making it (potentially) very useful for search and rescue or reconnaissance tasks.
[ RRG @ MIT ]
Comments (6)
Category: Research
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Comment by XV-745
Made Friday, 9 of April , 2010 at 10:23 am
This deserves a great big “WOW!” Realtime, 3D mapping from an autonomous platform? This has a MILLION uses – search and rescue, yes, but also just straight exploration and mapping. Imagine how effectively a bot like this could map caves or mines.
I love the idea of putting one of these in an abandoned mine… we have tons of abandoned mines in Colorado. The extent and condition of many of these mines are unknown because access is far too dangerous for humans. Having a complete and accurate map of the old mine shafts would be a GREAT resource for regulators, etc.
Some of the old mines are flooded though… Hmmm… I bet if they made one of these bots waterproof and tweaked the control software it would work just the same under water as it does in the air…
Comment by Joey1058
Made Monday, 12 of April , 2010 at 12:31 am
3D mapping of an unknown environment is actually pretty amazing. PrimeSense.com, which apparently is what powers the XBox 360 project Natal tech, uses a 3d map of its room as well. So sooner or later the bots will just know where they are by default.
Comment by Jackson Hill
Made Monday, 6 of September , 2010 at 3:55 am
GPS are very useful on day to day travel if you do not want to get lost-’,
Comment by Fridge Freezers `
Made Monday, 11 of October , 2010 at 5:26 pm
GPS is now available for tagging pictures on Digital SLRs made by either Canon or Nikon*’;
Comment by Complete Kitchen
Made Monday, 13 of December , 2010 at 1:04 pm
GPS is really a heaven sent gadget, you can always pinpoint your exact location wherever you are “”
Comment by Calvert
Made Tuesday, 13 of September , 2011 at 8:08 pm
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