DelFly II Autonomous Navigation
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Tuesday, 13 of July , 2010 at 12:28 am
The DelFly II from TU Delft is one of the most promising flapping wing micro UAVs we’ve seen, and at the International Micro Air Vehicle Conference and Flight Competition last week the little MAV got quite a workout. The video shows the robot flying along with a feed from the onboard camera and some of the vision algorithms being used to navigate. Especially cool is how the DelFly II actually runs into a wall at one point and bounces right back, which is one of the big advantages of a flapping wing design over a rotary wing. Also, that optic flow navigation technique is something that we’ve written about before; it replicates the way that insects navigate, using simple moving patterns to determine speed and direction relative to objects.
It’s not specified in the video what level of autonomy was used on the Delfly II… The competition permitted both full autonomy and remote control based on onboard video. At the very least, the first sequence (the figure eight around the two orange poles) seems to be completely autonomous, albeit (as far as I can tell) using a ground station to interpret the video and send steering commands to the robot.
If you think 16 grams is pretty small for an autonomous robot, don’t forget the DelFly Micro, which weighs just a hair (literally) over 3 (!) grams, and also manages to carry an onboard camera that can transmit streaming video. The DelFly Nano (1.5 grams) still seems to be a work in progress, and as for the DelFly Pico, somebody at TU Delft sneezed nearby and now they can’t find it.
Yeah, I was kidding about that last one.
Comments (7)
Category: Biorobotics
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Comment by dody
Made Saturday, 17 of July , 2010 at 2:08 am
Hello, I would like to know what employed you as video tx and or can one this get it.
cordially
DODY
Comment by Peter
Made Monday, 19 of July , 2010 at 12:51 am
It’s amazing how robotics always seems to copy nature, and does well in the process. I like how this design gives the failsafe against hitting objects square on…
Comment by granit küptaş
Made Monday, 4 of July , 2011 at 4:00 am
.) There are some interesting points in time in this article but I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner as well
Comment by pomza
Made Monday, 4 of July , 2011 at 4:44 am
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Comment by tudou99
Made Friday, 9 of September , 2011 at 4:57 am
Hello there! Fine post! Please when we will see a follow up!
Comment by niesmiertelnik allegro
Made Tuesday, 8 of November , 2011 at 5:56 am
Good post and straight to the point. I don’t know if this is in fact the best place to ask but do you people have any ideea where to employ some professional writers? Thank you :)
Comment by Tien Pechart
Made Tuesday, 17 of January , 2012 at 3:16 am
India was the best nation and really deserved their victory, can’t wait for the next world cup.
