Smart machinesSmart robots to advance science, perform rescue missions
Researchers see a day in the not-so-distant future when intelligent robots will be working alongside humans on a wide range of important tasks from advancing science, to performing deep sea rescues, to monitoring our natural habitats; it is a bold leap from the pre-programmed factory robots and remote-controlled drones we are most familiar with today
Chengyu Cao sees a day in the not-so-distant future when intelligent robots will be working alongside humans on a wide range of important tasks from advancing science, to performing deep sea rescues, to monitoring our natural habitats.
It is a bold leap from the pre-programmed factory robots and remote-controlled drones we are most familiar with today. Cao, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Connecticut, and his research team are creating a new generation of smart machines — devices which are fully autonomous and capable of navigating their way through our complex world unassisted.
A University of Connecticut release reports that these machines will not only be able to travel untethered from one point to another in space and perform tasks; they will be able to “think” on their own using artificial intelligence to adjust to unforeseen obstacles and situations in their environment — a tree, a building, a sudden gust of wind, or change in tidal current — without human interface.
It is the stuff of which science fiction movies are made.
“Many of the unmanned vehicles in use today are piloted via remote control and require a lot of support staff and supporting equipment to work properly,” says Cao. “Our research is intended to make autonomous unmanned systems reliable, safe, and adaptive to a wide range of environments and situations.”
The research team is developing novel algorithms and sensor networks that will allow these individual robotic machines to navigate their environment unassisted. They also are developing complex control systems that will allow groups of the machines to work together cooperatively without failing or crashing into one another. In one example, Cao envisioned three or four unmanned autonomous helicopters working in tandem to lift and carry a very large object without dropping it and with the ability to maintain level flight and direction as a single unit.
“Our work is inspired by nature,” says Cao. “If you look at nature, you see fish schooling, birds flocking, insects swarming. By staying together as a group, it increases the coverage area and increases the survivability of every individual.”
The release notes that Cao’s team has acquired a high-end, remote-controlled Maxi Joker 3 helicopter that will be modified so it can be used to test the new control system designs. The team has received clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly the copter up to 400 feet in a remote, isolated area off Horsebarn
