Deployment of Large Aerial Swarms

The SMAVNET project - EPFL, Switzerland
http://lis.epfl.ch/smavs

Experimental setup for the fully autonomous deployment of large aerial swarms.

• Category

  Science & Technology

[Oli090683]

They're flying around with no direct control from the ground, self-managing their flight plans in conjunction with each OTHER, not the ground controllers. It's a damn hard thing to get done right. Search for a vid: 'Starlings on Otmoor' and see the behaviour they're trying to emulate. It's insane stuff!

As for usefulness, they're developing it for use as an impromptu comms net in disaster areas where normal lines may have been knocked out. Pretty useful I'd say :)

[Sabine Hauert]

The music is the "9th Sense" by Yuri Sazonoff

[RoboTekno]

"Later investigations found a glitch in the drone's programing. It seemed to have become self aware." D: -Gasp!-

[fraseryt]

future headline reads: Plane Downed after robot sucked into jet engine ;P

[RoboTekno]

Hmm, you could build a flock of these to chase off birds around airports. Pretty awesome :)

[lazyweb]

I might have the pit next to you in hell, but our thoughts are identical. First world response to 3rd world birthrate. No birds would be welcome in wartime skies....

[Asiablue]

Simple, and amazing.

[Antiteshmis]

amazing

[v0lc0me]

These could be used with small cameras... to monitor any building anywhere secretly. Make them black and they will look just like birds around a building.Only way to get rid of a swarm would maybe be EMP or a HEMP.. sounds like a fantastic surveillance piece. If it had a way to deploy an airborne pathogen these could become a very scary and powerful weapon for biochemical warfare.

[iindium49]

there is inherent beauty in what you have done. thankyou.