Smart Quadcopters Find their Way without Human Help or GPS
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Jun 29, 2017
The FLA program is focused on developing a new class of algorithms that enables UAVs to operate in GPS-denied or GPS-unavailable environments-like indoors, underground, or intentionally jammed-without a human tele-operator.
Phase 1 of DARPA's Fast Lightweight Autonomy (FLA) program concluded recently following a series of obstacle-course flight tests in central Florida. Over four days, three teams of DARPA-supported researchers huddled under shade tents in the sweltering Florida sun, fine-tuning their sensor-laden quadcopter unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the intervals between increasingly difficult runs.
DARPA's FLA program is advancing technology to enable small unmanned quadcopters to fly autonomously through cluttered buildings and obstacle-strewn environments at fast speeds (up to 20 meters per second, or 45 mph) using onboard cameras and sensors as "eyes" and smart algorithms to self-navigate.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Smart_Quadcopters_Find_their_Way_without_Human_Help_or_GPS_999.html
