Engineers have found a way to teach drones (small flying robots) to fly in complex environments such as forests. Although drones are capable of impressive flights (even flying together in large formations) in an open space, until now it’s been hard for them to fly through more crowded areas without a human controller, unless they’re told the positions of obstacles in advance. Now, a team in China has created drones that change course to avoid trees and other hazards as they encounter them – including other drones.
The experiment was led by scientists at China’s Zhejiang University, using drones that are about the size of a human hand. Shrinking the size of a drone usually limits its abilities and performance, but these super-efficient robots are fitted with gadgets that can…
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The Week Junior (Digital) - 1 Issue, 335