MIT startup Skydio has launched a platform that allows users to create custom software that can be applied to the company’s autonomous drone, reports Nick Statt for The Verge. The platform will let “app makers and drone enthusiasts develop custom software that takes advantage of the device’s bevy of cameras and sensors, as well as its sophisticated computer vision software and machine learning algorithms.”
Prof. Fadel Abid speaks with IEEE Spectrum reporter Michael Koziol about a new system his research group developed to enable communication between underwater sources and the air. “We’re very interested in how deep and how high you can go,” says Adib. “Even from a theoretical perspective, we don’t even know what the limits are.”
FOX News reporter Jamie Rogers writes that MIT researchers have developed a new system that “helps solve a longstanding problem in wireless communication – how to send data directly from a submarine to a plane or drone.”
MIT researchers have developed a new system that allows data to be transmitted between underwater and airborne devices, according to the BBC News. The system could enable submarines to communicate with planes, and in the future the device could “help planes or drones detect the location of a submerged ‘black box’ flight recorder.”
Popular Mechanics reporter Avery Thompson describes a new method developed by MIT researchers to send signals between the water and the air by using sound waves to create detectable vibrations at the water’s surface. Thompson explains that the new technology could eventually make “exploring and living under the waves much easier.”
Engadget reporter Jon Fingas writes that MIT researchers have developed a new wireless device that allows data to be transmitted from an underwater source to the air. Fingas explains that the system could allow submarines to “send their findings directly to aircraft (including drones) circling above while remaining safely underwater, and without using boats as intermediaries.”
Engadget reporter Jon Fingas writes that MIT researchers have developed a tiny computer chip small enough to fit on a honeybee-sized drone that can help the drone navigate. The technology could eventually be applied to, “smart pills that navigate to where they're needed, or virtually any vehicle that may need to last for a very long time on one battery charge.”
Gabriel Bousquet ’17 speaks to BBC Click’s Gareth Mitchell about the robot he designed for his graduate thesis that was modeled after an albatross. Bosquet envisions using the robot to better understand “the exchanges between the atmosphere and ocean and carbon dioxide,” in the Antarctic Ocean, in an effort to learn more about climate change.
MIT researchers have developed a virtual reality environment in order to train drones, writes Logan Booker of Gizmodo. “It's a neat use of an emerging technology, one that makes a lot of sense when you think about it,” Booker concludes.
MIT researchers have developed a virtual reality system that can train drones to fly faster while also avoiding obstacles, reports Lauren Barack for Salon. Barack explains that the “researchers are programming the drones so they think they're in a living room or bedroom while they fly. They virtually see obstacles around them, but those impediments aren't really there.”
Xinhua news agency reports that MIT researchers have developed a robotic glider based on an albatross that can skim along the water’s surface “while surfing the waves like a sailboat.” “The researchers hope that in the near future, such compact and speedy robotic water-skimmers may be deployed in teams to survey large swaths of the ocean.”
MIT researchers are using virtual reality to train autonomous drones to fly in a variety of environments, writes Steven Melendez for Fast Company. Future tests may train the drone to fly safely around humans “as if they were in the same area, enabling it to practice sharing a space without actually endangering any human lives,” Melendez notes.
Aerobotics, a startup by MIT alumnus James Paterson ’14 aims to optimize crop yields and reduce costs for farmers by using an app to analyze images of the land. “Satellite footage is used to highlight longer-term trends, while drones are flown at specific points during the season to get more detailed information,” write Eleni Giokos and Mary McDougall for CNN Tech.
Researchers in CSAIL are developing a steering program for drones that allows them to process uncertainty and avoid hitting objects while flying autonomously. Called Nanomap, the drone uses depth measurements to determine the safest path. “This technique creates an on the fly map that lets the drone handle uncertainty as opposed to being ready in every situation,” writes John Biggs for TechCrunch.
Skydio, an autonomous drone startup founded by a group of MIT alumni, has showcased a new drone that can lock-on, follow and record its subject, writes Lucas Matney of TechCrunch. One possible use for the device is to “launch the drone, lock onto yourself, and ski down a mountain while the R1 tracked you to the bottom while capturing 4K footage,” Matney explains.