Scientists have built a mini-city for drones

Unmanned drones are gradually becoming an ordinary part of our lives. But while they have not yet begun to fly through the streets with dense traffic, as in science fiction films, they need to be prepared for different situations and "taught" the rules of the road (and air) traffic. For these purposes, engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich even built a mock-up of the city - it became a training ground on which the researchers tested a new control system for small wheeled quadrocopters.

By land and by air

The system proposed by scientists controls the movement of the so-called hybrid drones - drones that can not only fly, but also ride on roads and sidewalks. In the future, it is precisely such drones that will be most in demand, since the possibility of flight makes them maneuverable and fast, and the wheels save energy where it is not necessary to travel through the air.

But how to make sure that several quadrocopters on the same site now and then do not collide with each other? Who will be the dispatcher giving permission to take off and land? To solve this problem, a special algorithm was developed.

Follow your path

In a computer simulator, the system is able to support the movement of 80 combined drones. To test it in reality, as well as demonstrate its capabilities, the researchers built a model of the city in which eight drones simultaneously move.

The system in the simulator supports the coordinated movement of 80 drones with wheels, and to demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithm, engineers constructed a model of the city in which eight quadrocopters move.

The system acts as the same dispatcher who closely monitors the movement of drones. She plans their routes in advance so that they do not collide with each other. Then they just have to stay on the intended road - and they are not afraid of any accidents.