The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)already famous as the maker of some of the U.S. military’s more far-fetched war robotsaims to develop autonomous drones small enough to fit through an open window.
Speeding through unstable buildings or threatening indoor spaces at 20 meters per second, the unmanned aerial vehicle would obviate the need for physical entry that puts troops or civilian response teams at risk.
Part of a military brief called the Fast Lightweight Autonomy program, the study is looking at developing new algorithms to allow a small UAV operating without a remote pilot and without use of GPS waypoints to navigate stairways, corridors and other obstacles.
“Birds of prey and flying insects exhibit the kinds of capabilities we want for small UAVs,” said Mark Micire, DARPA’s Program Manager. “Goshawks, for example, can fly very fast through a dense forest without smacking into a tree.
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