Usually, one person controls one drone. In this case, virtual reality and artificial intelligence allowed one person to direct a large swarm.
Last November, at Fort Campbell, Tennessee, half a mile from the Kentucky border, a single human directed a swarm of 130 robots. The swarm, including uncrewed planes, quadcopters, and ground vehicles, scouted the mock buildings of the Cassidy Range Complex, creating and sharing information visible not just to the human operator but to other people on the same network. The exercise was part of DARPA’s OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics program.
Piloting even one drone can be so taxing that it’s not rare to see videos of first-time flights leading immediately to crashes. Getting to the point where a single human can control more than a hundred drones takes some skill—and a lot of artificial intelligence. With the headset on, the operator was able to assign the swarm missions and see what the swarm had already scouted, but they was not giving direct orders to individual drones. The swarm AI, receiving orders and processing sensor information, was the intermediary between human control and the movement of robots in physical space.
“We work hard to do some processing [of sensor readings] on platforms, so we don’t need to send a lot back on the network,” says Clark. “So we never send back a raw picture. We send back, ‘ah this picture is a door’ or ‘this picture is a hazard’ or ‘a source of intel.’ That processing happens on board. We just send back a notification.”Automated processing makes swarm interactions possible.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New 2022 Land Rover Defender 130: design revealed in patent | AutocarLargest version of Land Rover's reborn 4x4 is set to bring eight seats at a premium price
Read more »
Motorcyclist traveling at more than 130 mph dead after horrific crash in West HillsThe suspect on the motorcycle was driving at speeds of 130 mph when another car crashed into it... sending the motorcycle driver flying.
Read more »
'The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill': The abuses of a superstar pastor and megachurch ruins left behindThe podcast tells the inside story of one of the country's first internet celebrity pastors:
Read more »
This Isn’t Your Typical Pic Of A Tearful Kindergarten MamaThey are of fear and a desperate hope that someone inside that school building will be our child’s champion in our absence — until our kids can be their own.
Read more »
This New Restaurant Wants to Show DC a Whole New Side of Greek CuisineA first look at Nicholas Stefanelli's Philotimo in Washington, DC.
Read more »