Self-fencing quadrotors research will lead to more autonomy

The Autonomous Systems Laboratory at Stanford Aeronautics & Astronautics “have developed an algorithmic framework that allows for real-time motion planning/obstacle avoidance for high-speed robotic systems, such as quadrotors”, known as kinodynamic planning and means that robots can successfully navigate paths and obstacles to safely reach a destination.

ASL have chosen to demonstrate the autonomy, responsiveness and agility of their kinodynamic quadrotor, by way of fencing; this utilises the quadrotor’s ability to steer across three dimensions and change speed.

Applications of this technology include but are very much not limited to self-parking cars and Amazon drones delivering goods through busy city environments.

PhD candidate Ross Allen and his team taught the drone to intelligently navigate objects; Allen is looking to create a swarm of quadcopters to see how they interact together.