Vijay Kumar builds autonomous aerial robots. His drones don’t use gps, instead using sensors, cameras and laser scanners. Detecting objects and features in the drone’s proximity allows the UAVs to build a virtual map of its surroundings and move around in that space. Surprisingly, this is the least fascinating part of Kumar’s TED Talk The future of flying robots. Kumar is the Dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, and his lab Kumar Robotics is constantly at work on different robotics projects.
The first example is a drone that flies through the hallways of the lab and builds a map that can reach 5 centimeter resolution. His problem with these drones is that they’re heavy and consume around 100 watts per pound, limiting flight times. Onboard processors, lasers and scanners drive up the cost of the robot. Finding an inexpensive and lightweight electronics product with onboard sensors and processors was easier than first thought, and the team built a flying phone. Using a smartphone and a control app with a drone body gives the ability to have autonomous robots.
Modeling behavior after an eagle’s coordinated eye, wings, and talons movements allows Penn’s bots to grasp an object during a flyby. Another example shows the robot having to adjust its height when its payload on a string is longer than the target window. The robot senses and calculates in real time that a swinging motion is required to pass the obstacle.
Several other robots and ideas are demonstrated in the talk, including a drone modeled after a honeybee that weights 35 grams and only consumes 6 watts of power. Collision absorption and safety is also shown for small robots that operate in swarms. Precision farming allows a farmer to get input on every tree in an orchard to know if water, fertilizer or pesticide are needed.
This is a great talk and Kumar is an engaging speaker with drones flying in and out of the conversation every few minutes. Agriculture is particularly interesting to me and Vijay says that yields are increased by 10% with these techniques while water use can be lowered by 25%. Kumar previously presented his swarming robot ideas as a TED Talk in 2012.