TerraSwarm PI Vijay Kumar Demonstrates Agile Robust Quadrotors

At the University of Pennsylvania GRASP Lab, TerraSwarm PI Vijay Kumar and researchers Yash Mulgaonkar and Gareth Cross have created small robust quadcopters that can recover from mid-air collisions or even right themselves after an impact.

According to an article published on Techcrunch.com, the team has taught the quadroters flocking behavior. The project was started earlier this year with the design and development of the pico quadrotor. A video shows 4 pico quadrotors in a ‘tactical delta formation’.   Multiple pico quadrotors can also fly in formation while following the leader.

None of these robots or quadrotors need much computing power to maintain level flight. Because each little robot has a set of sensors and processors built-in, all of this behavior can happen in real time without connection to a back-end computer.

To see these amazing little quadrotors in action or to read the entire Techcrunch article (“Watch these Tiny Robots As They Fly Well with Others”), go to:

• http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/17/watch-these-tiny-robots-as-they-fly-well-with-others/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpO8DpeYC2k