February 1, 2014 at 21:4120-gram ornithopter with a stereoscopic vision system independently goes around obstacles
The laboratory of miniature aircraft of the Delft Technical University (Netherlands) created the world's smallest fully autonomous flying robot, which is able to avoid collisions with obstacles without any external intervention. He does this with a stereoscopic vision system that weighs just four grams. The total weight of the device is twenty grams. The ornithopter, named DelFly Explorer , can hold out in the air for up to nine minutes.
In addition to two microcams providing a stereo image, DelFly Explorer uses gyroscopes and a barometer for orientation in space. Now the ornithopter can only fly around the room at a given height, without bumping into obstacles. In the future, laboratory employees want to teach him to fly through door and window openings so that his flight is not limited to one room. Although it is too early to talk about commercial applications, scientists believe that in the future such robots can be used to inspect industrial facilities and installations, flying into the most inaccessible places.
Last summer, the laboratory of miniature aircraft presented another development - the smallest autopilot in the worldfor quadrocopters. The autopilot board based on the ARM Cortex M3 MCU microcontroller, equipped with accelerometers, gyroscopes, a barometer, magnetometer and GPS, measures just two by two centimeters and weighs 2.8 grams. This autopilot is part of a large project to create free and open Paparazzi drones .
In addition to two microcams providing a stereo image, DelFly Explorer uses gyroscopes and a barometer for orientation in space. Now the ornithopter can only fly around the room at a given height, without bumping into obstacles. In the future, laboratory employees want to teach him to fly through door and window openings so that his flight is not limited to one room. Although it is too early to talk about commercial applications, scientists believe that in the future such robots can be used to inspect industrial facilities and installations, flying into the most inaccessible places.
Last summer, the laboratory of miniature aircraft presented another development - the smallest autopilot in the worldfor quadrocopters. The autopilot board based on the ARM Cortex M3 MCU microcontroller, equipped with accelerometers, gyroscopes, a barometer, magnetometer and GPS, measures just two by two centimeters and weighs 2.8 grams. This autopilot is part of a large project to create free and open Paparazzi drones .