What's
impressive about this display is not that the quadcopters can do it,
but how they can do it. Similar drones have pulled off similar stunts
in the past through the use of external sensors and cameras that give
the drone a wealth of information as to where it is. It's only with
that data that the algorithm controlling the drone can fine tune the
craft's movements. That algorithm is often not running on the drone
itself either; an external computer is doing all the thinking and the
drone is just a very good and quick listener.

In
this instance, the drone is flying with its own eyes (a single
drone-mounted camera) and its own brain (an on-board Qualcomm
processor). That's crucial because it means just about any drone could
do this without external help. It wouldn't need cameras mounted on the
side of your house to guide it through the window.
The one caveat, as Kumar told IEEE Spectrum, is that the drone does
know where the obstacles are before it even starts moving; a drone
wouldn't be able to fly like this through a window it only just noticed.
Another good argument for screens and autonomous perimeter lasers.
ReplyDelete--mech